


come back home

by r_holland



Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents, POV Alternating, Post-Season/Series 02, Rated T for language, i'm just trying to give these two the happy ending that they deserve, kala/rajan is already over, kalagang fluff, they saved wolfgang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-01-01 05:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 28,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12149646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r_holland/pseuds/r_holland
Summary: It's not that Kala never wanted Wolfgang to meet her family, it's just that.... Well. She kind of never wanted Wolfgang to meet her family. She literally couldn't even picture them in the same room. She loved Wolfgang, and she knew that her family wanted only what would make her happy, but they came from different worlds. Very, very different worlds.And for her parents, going from Rajan to Wolfgang was sure to be...  well, it was going to be an adjustment.





	1. we've been through worse

**Author's Note:**

> Kala and Wolfgang... my sweet children. I just want them to be happy.

"I'm not sure that this is such a good idea."

Kala looked up from her suitcase, surprised by the interruption. Wolfgang was looking at her intently.

"I'm not so sure it is either," she mused, "But it  _is_ bound to happen eventually, and I think enough time has gone by that it will not be too painful, although it is hard to tell for sure. But we agreed, Wolfgang, it's better to just go now and get it over with. They're my  _family_ , you've been through worse." They just looked at each other for a second, as all the pain and horror of Wolfgang's kidnapping and torture and subsequent rescue seemed to rise to the surface between them. 

"Yeah," he said quietly, "We've been through worse." 

And they had. But it had been months now, months since BPO was defeated. Months since Kala had left Rajan and come to Berlin. She and Rajan had both decided it would be best for her to leave for a little while, put some distance between them, and Kala had wanted to be there for Wolfgang as he recovered - really be there for him, not just in her head. It had all worked out kind of perfectly, if you didn't count shattering her marriage, breaking a man's heart and devastating her family. Plus the fact that Wolfgang had been  _tortured_. Still, being in Berlin was wonderful. But it had been months, and real life had caught up with them. 

It hadn't been Kala's idea. Not that she never wanted Wolfgang to meet her family, it's just that.... Well. She kind of never wanted Wolfgang to meet her family. She literally couldn't even picture them in the same room. She loved Wolfgang, and she knew that her family wanted only what would make her happy, but they came from different worlds. Very, very different worlds. And for her parents, going from Rajan to Wolfgang was sure to be... well, it was going to be an adjustment. But they had begged her to come home, at least for a short while, and they wanted to meet him. Kala genuinely believed that getting the meeting over with now was the best course of action, and the tickets were already bought, her family warned. It was actually happening. But she could feel Wolfgang's anxiety at the edges of her consciousness as they got their stuff packed, and so she worried. 

 

Wolfgang had never considered himself to be a "meet the parents" type of guy. Then again, there were a lot of things he had never been before Kala. Still. On the rare occasion it had happened in the past, he'd usually made it his mission to scare the parents as much as possible. They were going to hate him anyways, so he'd always figured that he might as well have some fun with it. He might as well make it intentional. Come home with an interesting story for Felix, who would roar with laughter at his re-telling of some girl's poor father's face when Wolfgang had said he stole things for a living. 

"Wolfie, you legend!" He would say, between snorts of laughter. Wolfgang would only smirk. 

"Well it's true." 

But this time was different. This was Kala. 

Wolfgang knew how important Kala's family was to her. he could feel how much she missed them, like a dull ache in his chest that was only really comparable to how he'd felt while Felix was in the hospital. He knew how much their opinions  _mattered_ to her, no matter what she said about independence and feminism. 

So he didn't _want_ Kala's family to hate him. The thing was, he knew that they would. How could they not? He was the one that had stolen her away from Rajan, the perfect husband. The one who was keeping her currently in Berlin so far away from them. The one she was living and sleeping with out of wedlock - up until very recently, Kala had technically still been married to Rajan. That was reason enough for them to hate Wolfgang already. And that was without everything else. Every terrible fucked up thing that he'd done in his life. 

"Hey,  _hey_." Kala's hand on his face shook him from his thoughts. "Stop that," she told him softly, he face only inches from his. "I  _choose_ you. If they can't see why, that is entirely their problem.  _Not_ ours." 

Wolfgang reached out and pulled her into him, burying his head in her curls. He would try, this time. For her. 

Always for her. 

 


	2. this is going to be awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wolfgang and kala arrive in mumbai and promptly run into the one person they would really rather not see.

They had decided that the best course of action would be for Wolfgang to stay at a hotel during their two week stay, while Kala slept in her bedroom in her family's home. They figured that this arrangement would be the least upsetting to her parents, and it's not like they couldn't be together anyways - they'd already developed a habit of visiting at night to sleep next to each other whenever they had to sleep in separate places. Wolfgang's presence next to Kala while she was sleeping had become comforting and familiar and safe all at once, in a way that she had never felt with Rajan. She just couldn't sleep the same without feeling Wolfgang's quiet breath huffing against her neck. But they were sensates, so Wolfgang would be set up in a hotel while Kala would not, and they were unconcerned.

Her parents didn't pick them up from the airport. They'd wanted to, of course, but Kala had resisted. She didn't want Wolfgang to feel ambushed the second he stepped off the plane. Plus, she wanted to spend a couple of hours showing him around Mumbai, just the two of them, before she really  _was_ ambushed. 

 

Mumbai, in person, was even more chaotic than his visits with Kala had been able to capture. It was bright, and loud, and crowded. Wolfgang had never really been a crowds person, but he really didn't mind. Mumbai reminded him of Kala in all the best ways, and her excitement at being back bled into his consciousness nearly the exact second they left Berlin. He supposed, now that they were out of the airport, that he probably should have been taking in the sights around him - all narrated by Kala with a degree of enthusiasm he didn't think he had in him, about anything - but really, all that he was looking at was her. Kala, here, home and excited, was electrifying, He couldn't take his eyes off her face. 

Wolfgang was contentedly following her out of the hotel after checking in, listening to her story about some childhood adventure, when he felt her stop dead, her sentence petering out to silence. The panic he could feel building in her chest sprung him into action - he was in front of her protectively in a second. 

"What is it, what's wrong, what's happened?" His eyes were roaming the crowds in that practiced way, his hands clenching reflexively, ready for whatever fight was coming his way - his mind jumping to BPO on instinct.

He saw him at nearly the exact same moment that Kala unfroze. 

Rajan.

"No, no, Wolfgang,  _Wolfgang_ , it's okay. It's nothing," she said, hands fluttering around his face. "It's only Rajan."

"I see him," said Wolfgang tersely. He turned back to her face, softened his voice, "You scared me." 

Kala laughed shakily. "It is nothing, I promise. Rajan is no BPO."

"Should we talk to him?" He could see that she really, really didn't want to, but she felt that she had to. "We can go, if you want," he murmured, his eyes not leaving hers. "The hotel is right there." She smiled at him gratefully, but shook her head. 

"No, I think I must do this." Wolfgang knew she was right. Already, Rajan was making his way over to where they stood, rooted to the spot, his expression unreadable. Wolfgang could still feel Kala's anxiety, but he didn't really see a smart way out of this. 

"Do you want _me_ to go?" he asked, knowing the answer already. 

"No, no. Stay. Oh, this is going to be awkward." 

Wolfgang laughed. "I know. It'll be fine, though, Kala. Breathe." She did, matching her breathing, which had been flying rapidly out of control, to his as he took deep, measured, slow breaths, rubbing circles into the back of her hand with his thumb. 

"Okay," she breathed, turning back to Rajan, her face set. "It'll be fine." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wolfgang meets rajan soon, how very exciting!


	3. play nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rajan and wolfgang meet for the first time

The first thing that Rajan had noticed was that Kala was just as beautiful as ever. He'd caught sight of her across the busy street - her face animated, her hand flying around her face accenting her words, just as she did at work when she found something to be particularly engaging or exciting - and for a second, Rajan forgot. Just for a second, he was ecstatic to see her, felt his heart leap with joy. Very quickly, though, he remembered, and his heart broke to pieces all over again. He was standing there, still in the street as people passed all around him, trying to decide which would be less painful - talking to Kala, or not talking to Kala, when he saw him. The man. 

Rajan was well aware that Kala had been unfaithful to him during the course of their marriage. She had told him so when she had ended it, with tears streaming down her face. Still, he could never picture it. Not his Kala. Not with some stranger. Now he had proof of it with his own eyes.

He had been so swept up in Kala's beauty, in the shock of seeing her again, that at first he hadn't even seen the man she was pulling along, although how he had missed their linked hands, he wasn't entirely sure. He let the pale skin, blonde hair and dark clothes sweep over him, the stocky, athletic build. Kala couldn't have chosen a man more unlike him, in appearance, at least. It stung. But what stung more was the looks on their faces. Kala looked so happy. So excited. He didn't know if he'd ever seen her smile so wide. And the man... the man was looking at her with such tender affection and amusement in his eyes. He was looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered. 

Kala looked at him, then, and Rajan saw her freeze, saw the smile drop clean off her face. He felt as if he'd been stabbed in the chest. He saw the other man hurry to her, saw his concern, the way he swept the area with his eyes as if he would kill whatever had caused her pain. Stab again. 

Somehow, Rajan found himself walking towards them. 

 

Kala really,  _really_ did not want to talk to Rajan right now. Or, really, ever again - it just brought up too much hurt. She really, really,  _really_ did not want to talk to Rajan with Wolfgang. Wolfgang, who next to her, had adopted his trademarked smirk. She loved that smirk, she really did. She didn't love that smirk when it was directed at her ex-husband. Whom she had cheated on. With Wolfgang. Oh, this was going to be terrible. 

"Play  _nice_ ," she gritted out through her teeth as Rajan approached. Wolfgang turned his smirk on her. He chuckled. 

"I thought you liked it when I wasn't nice."

" _Wolfgang._ "

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Alright, alright, I'll be nice. I can be nice."

Usually, she would have rolled her eyes right back. Lined up a retort. However, Rajan had finally made it to them, so instead of playful banter with her demon, she had to make painful small talk with her ex-husband. The gods, apparently, wanted to make her life as difficult as possible. 

"Kala! Good to see you!" Rajan greeted her, warmly, if a little stiffly. "I didn't know you had returned to India." His smile looked forced, and Kala was sure that hers looked the same. Wolfgang, of course, just smirked, unruffled. 

"Hello Rajan! Yes, we just arrived!" Kala winced internally at her use of "we", which she was sure would just be salt in Rajan's wound. He didn't acknowledge it, simply regarded Wolfgang carefully.

"And who is your... friend? Is this... _him_?" Rajan asked, clearly assuming Wolfgang's ignorance of the language. Kala winced, but Wolfgang simply reached a hand out to Rajan, always smirking. 

"Yes, I am _him_. Wolfgang Bogdanow. You must be Rajan." Rajan took the outstretched hand, looking a little disgruntled at Wolfgang's accented Hindi. Of course, if he wished, he could speak Hindi as well as a native - he had all of Kala's language abiliy, after all. But a German who spoke flawless Hindi like a native would stick out like a sore thumb, so he let his accent bleed into the words. 

"Yes, that is me," Rajan told Wolfgang before turning rather firmly back to Kala. "Did you enjoy your vacation?" Kala didn't bother correcting him. Not that Kala had moved permanently to Berlin, but well... vacation was definitely the wrong word. She felt like this was intentional, Rajan trying to bait her about Wolfgang, and so she decided to ignore it. 

"Yes, thank you, Berlin is quite lovely." She told him smiling stiffly. Wolfgang, on the other hand, had no plans of ignoring the jibe.

"I'm not sure I would call it a vacation," he remarked, in the same even tone as before. Still, it was a challenge. His smirk had really transformed to full-blast, don't-mess-with-me vintage Wolfgang. Kala glared at him. So much for being nice. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt the ghost of a laugh, felt the promise that he'd be nicer now. Rajan, on the other hand, was frowning.

"Yes, well," he said, "I'm glad that you are back." Kala smiled. 

"It's good to  _be_ back." And she meant it. She loved Berlin, loved all the ways that it was so... _Wolfgang_ , but Mumbai was  _her_ city. Unexpectedly, Rajan turned to Wolfgang.

"And this is your first time in Mumbai?" 

Wolfgang grinned, "Not exactly." Their story was that they had met in Mumbai, when Wolfgang had been there for business purposes, and that he had passed through a few times over the past two years. Hopefully nobody looked too closely at this excuse, as Wolfgang had no cause to travel for business at all. 

Rajan cocked his head at the cryptic answer. "How so?" 

"Well," Wolfgang said, his smirk crooked and devilish, "This is my first time here for the purpose of pleasure rather than business."

Kala flushed, mentally berating him for such and obvious innuendo. Wolfgang just laughed in her head and told her not to worry so much. Rajan paused for a moment, but seemed to elect to ignore the comment. 

"Well, you must allow me to take you to dinner before you depart again," he said, much to Kala's surprise. "I'd like to get to know you better." She felt Wolfgang stiffen a little at her side, and all Kala could think was  _no please no, this is a terrible idea_. But Wolfgang wasn't one to back away from a challenge. He smirked. 

"Sure. We are here until the 21st." 

Kala was going to kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried hard to make Rajan likable but not overly so... his character is an odd balance, but I really wanted his POV on the Kalagang relationship. Plus, he makes a re-appearance soon.


	4. i'm here now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kala takes wolfgang to the restaurant. they both stress out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kala's parents are hard to write, man. I feel like I could go in so many directions.  
> We also get a little tiny bit of Felix in this chapter, which is great. I love Felix - he's so distinct and fun to work with!  
> Enjoy!

After the Rajan debacle, Wolfgang had completely forgotten the entire purpose of the trip. So when - after thoroughly chewing him out for his "macho alpha-male nonsense" - Kala said they should be getting to the restaurant, Wolfgang's stomach twisted in a very unpleasant way. Nerves. He couldn't remember the last time he'd truly felt nervous, for himself, and not through some sort of reverberation of one of the cluster. Kala gripped his hand tightly as they approached, whispering "It's okay, it'll be fine," under her breath. Wolfgang honestly wasn't sure if she was talking more to him or to herself. He felt the ghost of the whole cluster briefly at their back, expressing support. He knew that any one of them would step in to help him, should he make a total ass of himself - Lito with his lying, Will with his boy-next-door charm and good intentions, Capheus with his infectious energy - parents everywhere probably ate Capheus up. But Wolfgang knew that he wouldn't call on any of them, even when it all went to shit. He wanted Kala's family to like him for who  _he_ was, not some lie, some mishmash of people and personalities. And if they didn't like him, as was very fucking likely - he wanted that to be only him as well. He would be the only person to blame when things went wrong. 

 

It felt strange for Kala, walking up to the restaurant with nerves overwhelming pretty much everything else. She didn't know if she'd ever felt so nervous in her life, and it wasn't just because of Wolfgang, standing beside her, reflecting her own feelings like a mirror. This was the first time that she would be seeing her family since Rajan. Since months. Since Wolfgang was in the hospital and she'd come back from London just to rush off to Berlin. She'd never done  _anything_ like this before, and she had no idea what to expect. Her parents loved her, yes, but everyone had limits. Kala had no idea if she'd pushed her way right through theirs or not. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. But she knew that she couldn't hide in Berlin forever. She just hoped they could understand - hoped that they could look at Wolfgang as she did, and see everything good and special about him, and not just everything that he's had to do just to survive. 

She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. It was just her family - she'd helped take down BPO, she could handle introducing her new boyfriend to her parents. 

"It's okay, it'll be fine," she whispered - to the both of them. Then she pulled Wolfgang through the door and fully into her world for the first time. 

 

Back in Berlin, Wolfgang had seen his two worlds colliding when he'd introduced Kala to Felix - who, of course, he'd finally explained everything to. He'd had to. You couldn't really make up excuses for kidnapping and torture - well. If anyone  _could_ have had a good excuse it was probably Wolfgang. But he hated lying to Felix, and he was absolute shit at it anyways, and so the truth had come out. Felix had taken some convincing. He came around though, largely in part to a memorable phone call from "Lito fucking Rodriguez, Wolfie! You talk to Lito fucking Rodriguez in your  _head_? Where do I sign up?" 

And then Felix had met Kala, and Wolfgang kind of felt like he was dreaming. And then, soon enough, they got used to each other, and somehow became best fucking friends. They got along so well that Wolfgang honestly found it a little terrifying. They spent the majority of their time in the hospital alternating between teasing and doting on him, having playful arguments about pretty much everything, and, Wolfgang suspected, Felix brought out all of the embarrassing anecdotes the minute he fell asleep. Which was often, at first. He grumbled at them and rolled his eyes when they fussed, but secretly wouldn't have it any other way. Kala had met the only family he had ever really cared about, and aside from some initial weariness, it had been so, so easy. Almost dream-like. 

Today was not easy. 

 

They were ambushed by Daya the moment they walked in. 

"Kala!" he sister screamed, attacking her into a hug. Wolfgang thought this was sweet. He found it less sweet that this left him to introduce himself to the parents alone as the sisters had their reunion. Mr. and Mrs. Dandekar trailed behind Daya, looking wary. Wolfgang knew that he was probably the farthest from what they would hope for their daughter, even at first glance. And after the first glance, well, things just got worse, didn't they? 

This was a really fucking bad idea. But he was here now. Too late to back out.  _Get a grip on yourself, Wolfgang_. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Dandekar, it is so nice to meet you," he reached out a hand. Her father gripped it firmly.

"It is good to meet you as well - it's... Wolfgang, yes?" His name sounded strange in her father's mouth. Unfamiliar. Still, Wolfgang nodded. 

"Yes, Wolfgang Bogdanow," he told them, this time shaking her mother's hand. 

Wolfgang knew what it looked like when someone was sizing him up. He was more used to it than Mr. and Mrs. Dandekar could probably possibly imagine, but it was often under very different circumstances. He thought privately that this time might be the most intimidating yet, and he'd faced down all sorts of fucking terrifying people. Still, Wolfgang was well used to keeping his face unflappable. 

"Kala has told me much about you, it's good to finally be here," he said. Kala and Daya were still off to the side in their own little world.

"Are you enjoying India?" their mother asked. 

"It's lovely. So much brighter and warmer than Berlin." 

Kala and Daya chose that moment to resurface into the conversation. "Oh yes," Kala added, her hand still intertwined with Daya's. "I'd almost forgotten what warmth was." 

Wolfgang smiled at her fondly. "Yeah, well. Weather is shit in Berlin." She smiled at him, and he knew she was remembering too.  _Thank God for gravity_. 

"And you've been away so long," her father interjected, and Wolfgang felt like the spell was broken. 

"I know, dad, and I'm sorry. But you know being here is hard for me right now." 

"Well," her mother said softly, more sad than anything else, "you being in Berlin is hard for  _us_." 

Wolfgang sighed internally. They'd just gotten here and already he felt guilty. Kala grabbed his hand with her free one and squeezed. _Not your fault_ , she said, and it took him a second to realize that she'd spoken in his mind only. To her parents, she injected as much optimism into her voice as possible and simply said "I'm here  _now_. Shall we go upstairs?" 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who's left amazingly kind comments! I appreciate it so much, I hope I live up to your expectations.
> 
> Chapter 5 is written, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to type it up and post it, between all my uni classes. Soon though!


	5. sticking to honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolfgang and Kala navigate her parents' questions

Kala was hoping that once everyone was upstairs and eating, the awkwardness would dissipate. Hopefully quickly and naturally, so she wouldn't have to do any peacekeeping. Of course, that seemed to be too much to ask.

"So, Wolfgang. Kala has told us very little about you - what is it that you do?"

"My friend Felix and I run a locksmith shop back in Berlin."

"Ah, a business owner!" 

Wolfgang shrugged, "Not exactly. Felix is the one who owns it, I just help him out."

"Oh, I see."

"Felix is really lovely," Kala jumped in, trying to put a positive spin on everything. "He and Wolfgang do everything together." 

Wolfgang nodded, "We are like brothers."

"How very sweet," said her mother. Kala couldn't tell if she meant it. As the table lapsed into a silence, she hoped that maybe now the interrogation portion would be over, but, of course, she was wrong. That would have been too easy.

"So, Wolfgang," her father began, and Kala sighed slightly under her breath. "Have you always lived in Berlin?" Wolfgang just nodded, smiling slightly. "And do the two of you plan on living in Berlin... permanently?"

Wolfgang and Kala groaned internally in synchronicity. "Dad -"

"Kala and I have discussed it," Wolfgang said frankly, "But we haven't come to any permanent decision yet."

"Yes," Kala rushed to agree, "We plan on staying in Berlin for now, but we don't think we'll be there forever. We've discussed London, or Paris, or Chicago. Or, of course," she added quickly at the look on her parents' faces, "here in India as well." They still did not look particularly impressed.

Kala wasn't sure what to do. None of this logistical stuff mattered, not really. But she didn't know where to take the conversation from where they were. She cold feel her breathing accelerate slightly - this wasn't going as she had hoped, even if it hadn't yet turned into a disaster. Suddenly, she could feel Wolfgang's hands on her shoulders, rubbing soothing circles, even as he sat next to her cutting into his food. There was a bit of a silence, but although his hands on her back made her feel much calmer, she still didn't know how to break the quiet. Once again, Wolfgang came to her rescue.

"Mr. Dandekar, this food is delicious. Truly. The best Indian food I've ever had - Kala hasn't been exaggerating your talents."

"Thank you." Her father looked pleased. "Do you have a lot of Indian food in Belrin?"

"Not really. There are a few good places, but none nearly as good as this." Her father smiled, and then Daya cut into the conversation for the first time.

"You speak very good Hindi. Where did you learn?"

"I'm self-taught," Wolfgang, looking down at his food to hide his face as he lied. "I like languages."

"He also knows Korean," Kala chimed in - because, technically he did. She omitted the fact that she did as well. "And English and Spanish." And, of course, Swahili and Icelandic, but she figured throwing so many languages out there would just lead to more questions, which Wolfgang would have to make up answers to, and she wasn't sure he could. What reason would a Berliner have to know Swahili?

"That is very impressive," said her mother. Wolfgang smiled and inclined his head. Kala beamed at him, pleased that their web of lies to explain their sensate connection was working so far. They locked hands under the table.

"And how did you two meet?" asked Daya, ever curious. " _Kala_ never told us." Kala frowned at her. This was a subject that she'd rather not discuss.

"Wolfgang and I met while he was here on business," Kala told her, he rehearsed answer already on the tip of her tongue. Beside her, Wolfgang squeezed her hand and nodded in confirmation. Daya was not satisfied -  _typical._

"That's  _so_ boring - _where_ did you meet?" 

Wolfgang smiled at her softly. "We met at a karaoke bar. I was singing an awful rendition of What's Up."

"It was  _not_ awful! You were wonderful - so fun and joyful." 

"You were far better," he argues, huffing out a laugh. "You sing like an angel. I sing like a toad." 

"Stop that, you were quite good, in energy if not in skill."

Wolfgang laughed again, and this time Daya laughed with him, and suddenly Kala remembered where they were. 

"And when exactly was this?" Her father asked, his tone light, his eyes serious. Kala sighed. 

"Dad."

"Kala." 

"You don't want to hear the answer to that." 

"I would just like to know, my darling." 

Kala sighed again, looking to Wolfgang somewhat desperately for help. He just regarded her father seriously. 

"We first met around the time of her wedding," he said, "but nothing romantic happened between us for a few months after that." Her father nodded slightly, staring at him solemnly. 

"And you were aware that Kala was a married woman?" Kala squeezed her eyes shut.  _Oh god please let this stop._

"Yes," said Wolfgang, sticking to honesty.

"And yet you stayed with her anyways." It wasn't phrased as a question, but Wolfgang answered anyways. 

"Yes," he said. Kala expected him to leave it at that, but he continued. "It was very complicated. I did _try_  to... let her get on with her life. After her first wedding was interrupted, I told Kala to go through with it and marry Rajan."

"Why, if  _you_ loved her?"

"Dad!" Kala couldn't believe he was asking such things of Wolfgang.  _You don't have to answer that_ , she whispered into his ear through their sensate connection. He shook his head slightly. He turned to her father. 

"I thought... I thought that I didn't deserve her, that she deserved a chance to be happy with a better man than me. I have regretted that moment ever since." 

"As I have regretted listening to him," Kala said firmly. Her mother let out a little gasp. Kala turned to her. "Rajan is a good man, who loved me, but I never should have married him when I knew in my heart that I had never loved him in the same way. He deserved better." Her family was staring at her in a sort of stunned silence (although Daya was smiling a little - a good sign,) but Kala was tired. "Now, can we all stop pestering my boyfriend and talk about something else?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone once again for all of the kind comments! I tried not to disappoint, although this chapter has been the hardest. I really hope you enjoyed it!


	6. nothing had exploded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daya reflects on her impressions of Wolfgang. Wolfgang panics a little. Nomi wants all of the details.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first major introduction of some of the other cluster members! Here we get some conversations with Sun and with Nomi, and we'll get some more of the cluster in the next chapter as well.

Daya had been fully prepared to hate her sister's new boyfriend. She had loved Rajan, and originally couldn't understand why Kala was leaving him. Even after a few months, when she began to truly accept and understand her sister's decision, she had been bitter about this other man, who had taken Kala away from her. What type of person does that? Kala wouldn't tell them much about him - not even his last name ("I don't want you googling him!") so it had been very easy to build the unknown man as a kind of enemy in her mind - a horrible person, probably some smarmy businessman who picked up all sorts of girls on his trips around the world.

Wolfgang was not what she had expected.

He wasn't a smarmy kiss-up or artificially charming or... well. She didn't fully know  _exactly_ what she'd expected him to be. Just that whatever it was, Wolfgang was not. 

He was quiet. He answered all of the family's questions without any fuss. He worked at a locksmith shop. He sang karaoke. He was  _blonde_ , and incredibly handsome, which was helpful. Most of all, he looked at her sister in this soft, contented way that was almost painfully adorable. The only time he seemed to genuinely smile was when he was looking at Kala. 

Daya could tell that she was stressed, but Kala looked at Wolfgang in a way she'd never seen her look at anyone. Certainly not Rajan. Daya couldn't tell what her parents thought about Wolfgang - he was very different than Rajan, and they seemed to be quite hesitant. Daya, however, made her decision as soon as she saw them loose themselves in each other, recounting how they met. Anyone who could make her sister that happy was alright by her. 

When she watched them leave through the window, holding hands in the street below, Kala's head on his shoulder, Daya knew she had made the right choice. When Wolfgang dropped her hand to reach an arm around her, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her forehead, Daya turned to her parents and announced, "I like him." 

 

By the time they exited the restaurant, all Wolfgang could feel was relief, mixed with a sort of vague panic. The panic, he found, made no sense. It was definitely  _his_ , not someone else in the cluster's, but he wasn't sure where it was coming from. Nothing had gone  _terribly_ wrong, although it certainly could have gone better. But nothing had exploded. There had been no yelling. No one was after them. It was just him, Kala and the night sky, her hand warm in his and her head on his shoulder as she walked him to his hotel. 

So why the panic? 

It was only after a fierce and hungry kiss goodbye (that her parents definitely wouldn't approve of), once Kala was gone back and he was as alone as he could be (sensate connections non-withstanding) that he finally figured it out. 

Despite all of the questions and obvious judgement and prying that they had expected (although Kala still maintained was "totally inappropriate"), Wolfgang had truly  _like_ _d_ her family. They cared so deeply for each other, and Wolfgang, who had only ever needed Felix, found himself wanting to be a part of it. He wanted them to accept him, to talk about him in the way that they used to talk about Rajan. The panic was stemming from his fear of fucking it all up. As usual. Wolfgang sat at the edge of is hotel bed, head in his hands. They already seemed to dislike him, which he had expected. But how would he ever be able to build their trust to a Rajan level? It probably wasn't even possible. They had tolerated him today - he shouldn't expect it ever to evolve into more than that.  

"Families are complicated," Sun said, suddenly meditating in front of him in his hotel room. "You must give them time." 

"There is no reason for them ever to accept me," he said simply. 

"There is," she said, looking at him in that all-knowing way that she had. "Kala loves you, and they know this. That is reason enough." 

"Maybe," he conceded, while still trying to stamp down on the hope building in his chest. 

She gave him that look again. "Not all families dissapoint, you know," she said, and he simply nods, unconvinced. He restrains himself from pointing out that hers did. And Nomi's. Most families he knew did, eventually. In some way. "It will be fine, Wolfgang," she tells him, and then she is gone. 

He considers visiting Kala, but then remembers that she may very well be talking to her parents about him, and he decides he doesn't want to know, at least not yet. It's too early for bed, and he isn't really tired, so he smokes a cigarette on the balcony, where he is briefly interrupted by Nomi, all energy and questions. 

"So, how did it go? I tried to ask Kala but she was with her family and she couldn't talk."

Wolfgang rolled his eyes, smiling. "It went... not terribly."

"Ugh, Wolfgang. Details! This is why I went to Kala first." She crossed her arms and stared him down. He laughed, shrugged. 

"I don't think they hate me  _too_ much. Yet." 

Nomi groaned. "You're useless. I'm going to go bother Kala until she's finally alone and can give me actual information." 

Wolfgang just laughed again, and Nomi rolled her eyes at him playfully before departing. He could picture Kala, resolutely trying to ignore the blonde until she finally gave in and made up some excuse to leave her family's company. He thought about visiting just to witness it, but he figured neither Kala nor Nomi would appreciate it, and he was sure they would kick him out in order to gossip anyways. So he went to bed. Kala would come to him soon. 

A few hours later, he woke drowsily to a warm body crawling into his arms. 

"You're up late," he commented, half asleep, pulling her in close to him. He could feel the sheets from her bedroom, much scratchier than the ultra-soft hotel bed, against his waist as she pulled them around their bodies. 

"Nomi, Riley and Lito kept me up. They demanded to know  _everything_." 

Wolfgang huffed a laugh into her hair. "That sounds like them." Kala hummed in agreement, and together they drifted off into sleep, only slightly missing the  _real_ feeling of their bodies intertwined. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked Sun and Nomi!  
> Sorry that updates are being very inconsistent - not sure when the next chapter will go up, as it's not written yet and I have two papers to be working on for uni. It might be a bit of a longer wait, sorry!  
> As always, thank you so much for your comments and kudos, it means a lot to me.


	7. mental support network

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kala endures her parents questions. Nomi, Riley and Lito are curious. Wolfgang is sleeping. 
> 
> The same time period as the last chapter, but told through Kala's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is the longest yet! Enjoy.

Kala had spent the entire walk back to the restaurant stressing out. Now that Wolfgang was no longer with her, comfortable back at his hotel, all of her anxieties rose to the surface. The dinner had gone well enough - she certainly hadn't expected it to go any better. It would have been crazy to think that her parents would be accepting of Wolfgang right away. But now she was going back to them without him, and she was sure to hear all of their first impressions. It was making her nervous. She hoped that they would keep it quick and painless. The sooner she could escape that discussion, the sooner she could curl up in Wolfgang's arms and run her fingers through his hair and tell him he had nothing to worry about - she could feel his anxiety, even now, pressing up into the back of her mind. Somehow, though, she knew that there was no way she would get to do any of that anytime soon. 

Daya didn't waste any time. She assaulted Kala almost immediately with chatter about Wolfgang, ranging from "you didn't mention he was so  _hot_ ," to "the way he looks at you Kala," to "I've never seen you smile like that," which made Kala smile, flashing back to  _What's Up_ in her bedroom and Wolfgang filling up her vision with those blue, blue eyes. 

Kala was cheered by Daya's reaction, but she knew, logically, that her sister was fairly easy to convince to her side. She was easily swayed by good looks and charm, and she would be the one to see Kala's happiness and presume it to last forever. 

Her parents, however, would be much more difficult. Of course, she could see herself through their eyes. Fresh off a failed marriage, jumping into the arms of a man as different from Rajan as possible, running away from her problems and into the exciting, fresh world of Berlin. An adventure - she knew that that was probably what they thought Wolfgang was to her. But he was so much more than that. She knew that they would come around. They would see. Eventually. 

For now, though, she had to deal with their doubt, and hand in hand with it, their questions. She sat with them as they fretted, trying to be patient and appear rational. 

"He is... quite different from Rajan, my dear," her mother said, "don't you think you're rushing into this a little quickly?" 

"No, I really don't think so," Kala told her, willing them to understand. "Wolfgang is different from Rajan because I never  _loved_ Rajan. I've loved Wolfgang since I first met him. It  _is_ entirely different, but I think that must inherently be a good thing, obviously, since it didn't work with Rajan." 

"Perhaps it didn't work, as you say, with Rajan because you never really tried, my love," her father said gently. "You... knew this Wolfgang during the entirety of your marriage." Kala knew that they meant well, but the suggestion made her angry. She tried to clamp down on it - one of the emotions that seemed to call to Wolfgang specifically in the cluster was anger, and she didn't want him here for this conversation. She took a deep breath.  _Sound logical_. 

"I did try! I didn't  _want_ to leave Rajan for Wolfgang!" It came out angry, not rational or logical at all. She steamrolled through anyways. "It all would have been much simpler if I could have just loved Rajan and been happy with my life the way it was. But I could not. And then - and then Wolfgang was in the hospital and I knew, I  _knew_ that that was where I was supposed to be, with him, not at home, pretending to have a happy life." 

Her parents looked a little stunned at the outburst. Her mother patted her wrist in a mollifying gesture. "We just want to be sure you're not doing anything you're going to regret." 

"I will  _never_ ," Kala emphasized, "regret Wolfgang." 

As Daya tried to lighten the mood with a tale about one of her friends, Kala noticed Nomi leaning behind her parents. She gave Kala a questioning look, but Kala just shook her head. She didn't think her parents would let her escape just yet. Nomi just sighed and said "I guess I'll just go ask Wolfgang," and Kala almost laughed out loud. Wolfgang being interrogated by Nomi for personal details was sure to be interesting, to say the least. But she wouldn't get to experience it, not yet. Daya's tale had ended, and her parents took the cue to ask Kala even  _more_ personal questions. ("Do you intend to marry this man," "what about children", "what is his family like", "is he religious", to begin with.) Kala tried to just sit and answer calmly and rationally. ("Eventually", "we haven't discussed it yet", "dead", "no".) When Nomi came back, this time with Lito, lounging around, Kala almost rolled her eyes, but caught herself, as it was not an appropriate reaction to the tale her mother was telling about her aunt. She endured and ignored them waltzing around making comments for as long as she could before finally excusing herself to her room under the excuse of jetlag. By this time, Riley had arrived too - she, unlike the other two, was quiet (as usual), but Kala could sense that curiosity had gotten the better of her. Will even had made an appearance, just to say "Aww, leave the girl alone," to which Kala had replied " _Thank_ you," which was a confusing remark to her family. She'd had to bluster lamely about and claim she'd misheard something. How totally embarrassing. 

Once safely in her room, door locked, she turned to her cluster-mates. "You three are incorrigible," she complained. They just sat around her, Lito on the bed, Nomi on the desk and Riley on the floor - looking at her eagerly like they were young children and she was about to conduct storytime. Kala sighed and rolled her eyes at them. 

"So..." Nomi prompted, "what happened? Tell us everything!" Kala rolled her eyes again. "You and Wolfgang roll your eyes at me far too much," Nomi remarked dryly, "Frankly, I'm insulted." 

Kala smiled at the mention of Wolfgang. "What did he tell you?" 

"Not freaking much!" 

Kala just laughed. "That sounds entirely like him." 

"Yeah, it was terrible. So  _you_ have to  _spill_." 

"Yes," Lito chimed in, "You must tell us everything!" 

"How is it that you don't already know?" Kala mused. "Wolfgang and I both experienced it. We both know the outcome - shouldn't you?" 

"Wolfgang didn't want anyone to interfere, so we all sort of stayed away," Riley explained.

"Plus, it seemed kind of private," Nomi added. "We didn't want to pry."

Kala raised an eyebrow. "And what are you doing right now?" 

"We didn't want to pry without permission," Nomi amended, as if that explains everything. 

"All we know," Riley cut in before Kala can reply, "is that nothing super dramatic happened." 

"Yes, it was all very boring," Kala said. "Nothing to tell. You may all leave now." The three of them just sat there in expectation. She sighed in defeat. "They asked him why he stayed with me when he knew I was married." 

"Ouu. That is a rough one," Lito said, and Kala nodded. 

"He was very sweet, though, in his answer." 

"He answered?" Nomi asked in surprise. 

"Yes, quite honestly, in fact," she said almost proudly. 

"Wolfgang," Riley said doubtfully. "Answered a deeply personal question. Honestly." Kala nodded. 

"Wow," Nomi said. "He must really love you." 

All three of them burst into laughter.

It was much later when her cluster-mates bid her farewell and disappeared from her room, after a thorough analysis over her family's reactions ("You never told your sister how devilishly handsome your boyfriend is?" Lito gasped. "You should be bragging on him! He is a catch!") and their questions. ("They asked about children? Already? Damn," Nomi whistled.) Kala was left feeling drained and exhausted - she actually did feel the effect of jetlag, it was not just an excuse - but happy. It was nice having a built-in mental support network to talk things through with. 

It was even  _nicer_ to have a built-in mental cuddle-buddy, she thought as she pulled herself mentally to Wolfgang. He was sleeping, his bare back exposed to the moonlight, and before crawling into bed with him, she took a second to just look at him.  _You didn't mention he was so hot._ He was. Of course he was. Kala had never thought to mention it because there was so much more to Wolfgang than that, and it isn't like she was the type to put much stock into physical appearance in the first place. But he was beautiful. Even more so, if it were possible, in his sleep. He looked younger, peaceful. There was no hint of a scowl, or the carefully crafted neutral, or the ever-present smirk, all of which somehow sharpened his features. In his sleep, his face looked soft. Unguarded. Innocent. She felt a deep rush of sadness that all of that softness and innocence had to be pushed down when he was awake. She brushed her fingers lightly through his hair. Her beautiful demon. How lucky she was. He stirred a bit at the contact and she smiled before climbing onto the bed and into his arms, several miles away, placing a kiss on his shoulder. 

The last thought she had before drifting off to sleep was  _Home_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally had an outline for this fic, and this entire chapter was not in it. I'm very terrible at sticking to plans.  
> I hope you enjoyed! Again, thank you to everyone who leaves comments and kudos, you guys are so supportive! 
> 
> If you want to keep up with me as a person and my various random interests - including lots of kalagang, of course - you can follow me on tumblr at thatwaswickedharry.tumblr.com (although i don't know why you would.) 
> 
> Update hopefully soon!


	8. we all see it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kala can't stay. will gives out advice. kala's family spends more time with wolfgang.

Kala had been looking forward to a nice day with Wolfgang. She'd woken up in his arms, peppered kisses across his forehead and down his neck while he grumbled at her and puled the covers up further. 

"Fucking jetlag," he mumbled, burying his face in her neck and refusing to open his eyes. 

"Wolfgang," she teased, "We have so much to do today!" He just groaned, and pulled her in tight against him. She laughed and nuzzled closer. 

"Or," he whispered, low and gravelly in her ear, "we could just stay in bed all day." She turned her head to look at him properly, those blue eyes filled with mischief and hunger. She opened her mouth to respond and -

"Kala? Are you awake?" She was jolted away from him, suddenly alone in her own bed. Her father's voice sounded through her bedroom door. She cursed under her breath in German, and knew that several blocks away Wolfgang did the same, although she could also sense his smirk - she'd never used to curse before she'd spent months in the presence of him and Felix. Now, sometimes the German curses slipped out, and Wolfgang took a mischievous sort of pride in this.

"Yes, good morning!" She opened the door to her father, who was peering around her into the empty room. 

"I thought I heard you talking to someone," he said, and Kala cursed again, this time only internally. They must have been flitting back and forth between the hotel room and her bedroom. She must have spoken aloud. 

"I was...talking to Wolfgang," She improvised, "On the phone. Planning the day, and such." She waved her hand around her head vaguely and hoped that her father wouldn't think that she was harboring Wolfgang in her room overnight. He had been looking around as if he expected Wolfgang to be hiding in the closet, but he seemed to buy it. It was just as well - technically speaking, the only words that were a lie were "on the phone." 

"Of course," said her father. "At breakfast you must share with us - we have been throwing around some day plans as well." 

"Of course, of course," Kala told him. "I'll just be a moment, I must get dressed." When she closed the door to her room, Wolfgang was there, leaning next to it. 

"Must you?" He said, that smirk she loved so much adorning his face. She glared at him, fighting the smile off her face. She wasn't really very successful. 

"Unfortunately for you, I must. And really, so must you." She nodded to his mostly-naked body, still clad only in boxers. "I'm sure we'll have much to do today." Wolfgang's grin took on a feral edge. His idea of today's plan was currently very different than her parents'. He stalked towards her, and suddenly she was in his hotel room, being backed against the wall. He kissed her, hard and wild and hungry, hands bracketing her head, and she melted into him. 

"Stay," he breathed, hot against her ear, before kissing down her neck. "Stay, Kala," he pressed the words into her skin like a prayer.

She considered it for a split-second, she did, but they both knew that it wasn't a possibility. Her parents were waiting for her.

She pulled away, and he let her go. The smirk was back. 

"I'm sorry," she told him, and they were back in her room, and she was stepping out of his arms, whispering, "Later," close against his ear. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back. Kala closed her eyes as well, and then she pushed him  _out_.  

 

Wolfgang had known that Kala would push him out eventually - he just thought it would be fun to see how far he could go before she did. She was so sexy in the mornings, and she'd been pulled away from him so  _quickly_. So he'd followed her, trying to win her back to him. They both knew she wasn't going to stay. But it was fun to drive her a little crazy, sometimes. 

And it was fun. Until he was alone in his hotel room wondering what questions Kala's family would throw at him today. Maybe they'd ask about the Berlin living situation. Maybe they'd done a Google search and would ask him about his criminal family. Or his criminal past. Or that whole suspicious restaurant shootout with Lila - that had made the papers. Or maybe -

"Hey, take it easy, man." Will was suddenly sitting on his hotel bed.

(Wolfgang was suddenly facing him in the apartment Will and Riley were living in.)

Wolfgang gave him a half-hearted glare. "I'm fine," he grunted.

"No, you're not."  _Goddamn cop_. Will just grinned at him, and Wolfgang knew that Will knew what he was thinking. "Look," Will said, "her parents might be apprehensive now. But we both know they respect Kala and her decisions, and we both know that they'll come around." 

"Do we know that?" 

"Yeah, man. Trust me. They're good people." Will stood from his spot on the bed in Wolfgang's hotel room, took a couple steps forward from where he stood in the apartment. He put his hand on Wolfgang's shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. "And so are  _you_." 

Wolfgang snorted dryly. "I am not a good person."  He tried to shake Will off, but the guy was annoyingly strong. And stubborn. 

"You are," he said, and then he grinned. "Trust me, I'm a cop." 

"Being a cop doesn't make you a good judge of character." 

Will laughed, finally letting go of him and clapping him heartily on the shoulder instead. 

"Sure it does." He laughs, and Wolfgang can't help but smile. Then he pictures his family's reaction to him being comforted by a cop and he lets himself laugh. When did his life turn into this?

"Hi boys!" 

They were in the apartment again, and Riley had just walked in. Will's smile grew, and he pulled her close to him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

"Hey Riles," he smiled down at her, "I was just giving Wolfie here some expert advice." Wolfgang rolled his eyes, and Riley laughed. He was about to leave them be, but Riley called him back. 

"Wolfgang." 

He turned. 

"He is right, you know. We all see it."

All he could do is nod at them, standing there looking at him with all this _belief_ , their hands interlocked - and then he was back again, alone in his hotel room. 

Wolfgang knew that he wasn't a good person. There were too many things that he'd done in his life. Too much blood and death. Too many mistakes that he couldn't change and choices that he couldn't undo. He wasn't sure if he wanted to undo all of them. They were ingrained in him, had become him. He couldn't change that. But even though he knew he wasn't a good person, the fact that there were people out there - people who knew _everything -_ who believed that he  _was..._  Well, that had to count for something, didn't it?

Maybe he wasn't a good person, but that didn't mean that he was a monster. At least not anymore. 

He grabbed a towel and headed for the shower, hoping that the Dandekar's would be okay with that. Knowing that Kala  _was_ , and that after all the shit that he'd done, he was still so lucky. 

 

Kala's parents wanted to introduce Wolfgang to Kala's aunt, and they wanted to spend the whole day with the whole family. And Wolfgang. Kala loved her parents, and she loved her sister, and she loved her auntie. Kala also loved Wolfgang. She wanted them to get along, to love each other the way that she loved them. She believed that this could happen. She knew that having them interact more would only help. 

But she wished she could skip the whole awkward part, the parental interrogation and all of the questions. She wished she could stop Wolfgang from delving back into his self-loathing and re-building up his walls so he wouldn't get hurt.

She wished she and Wolfgang could have a break, with no stress and no questions. Like a real vacation. Normal people doing normal things. 

She wished her relationship with her parents was back exactly to how it had been before. Back when they had trusted all her decisions implicitly. 

She mostly wished that this entire scenario didn't stress her out so much. 

 

Wolfgang showed up to the restaurant later that morning looking fresh and cheered and optimistic. He smiled widely when he saw her. The tension was mostly gone from his shoulders, his jaw wasn't clenched, like it had been the day before. He kissed her on the cheek when he got to her, still smiling. 

"You're happy this morning," she smiled at him. 

"You sound surprised."

"No, it's just... I don't know. You seemed stressed last night after I left," she said. "And this morning after I left." It's not like she wanted to ruin his mood - but she was curious. Yes, she'd seen him in the morning, and he'd been fine, but that hardly counted, as he'd just woken up. She'd been expecting him to show up stressed.  _She_ was still stressed, and it was  _her_ family.

He just grinned at her. "I miss you when you leave,  _schatz_ ," he told her, but he was laughing. 

"Don't be cheesy, Wolfgang," she said fondly. "I'm being serious!"

"So am I," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder as she led him up to her family's living area. He was still laughing, and she smacked him in the chest. "Fine, fine," he laughed, "I had some visitors." He didn't elaborate, but she could feel Will and Riley, feel Will's strong grip on his shoulder, feel their faith in him. She could feel Capheus, who had popped in around his busy schedule just to give Wolfgang a hug and some words of encouragement just before Wolfgang had left to come meet her. She could feel Nomi and Sun last night, when she'd gone home and he'd been panicking a little. She smiled into his shoulder, shared back the contentment she'd felt the night before, after Nomi and Riley and Lito had helped her go over the night. Their whole cluster was rallying around them, and although, in the scheme of things, this was a very small battle that they had to fight, both Kala and Wolfgang were uplifted by the support of their little family. 

Wolfgang and her aunt together were an interesting pairing - Wolfgang had rather earnestly listened to her aunt's explanation of astrology and her beliefs, and he'd asked questions, and he'd straight-up stated that he thought it was bullshit, although in politer terms. They had an interesting theological debate while the family walked the streets, and although Kala could tell that her aunt was disappointed in his lack of faith, she also knew that her aunt loved having someone to try and prove wrong. And Wolfgang was respectful, and interested, just as he had been that first time they'd truly talked - at the temple in the sun, at the cafe in the rain. She watched him fondly as he countered some remark of her aunt's, reminded that although Wolfgang could throw a punch and shoot a gun with terrifying skill, he was also extremely intelligent, and that's one of the things that she'd first picked up on that rooftop that made her fall for him. Her parents watched too, not saying too much, just observing. Daya, of course, was there as well, and she took up the role of tour guide, pulling Wolfgang around, pointing out landmarks, asking him questions about Berlin and Felix and movies and music and clubs. But these were questions Kala didn't mind, these were conversations, and Kala could see parts of her world coming together in the way she'd imagined and hoped it could one day be. 

The only piece of the puzzle that was resisting, that wasn't starting to come into place was Kala's parents. This time was better than the last, but they watched Wolfgang quietly and wearily, and her mother had made a little side comment about how Rajan also lacked a faith that had driven Kala insane. She had trailed behind, collecting herself, not wanting to snap at her parents or scream that Rajan and Wolfgang weren't specimen to be held next to each other and analysed. Wolfgang was engaged in a complicated question of her aunt's, and was answering thoughtfully, and so she ducked briefly into a side-street to collect her breath - not wanting him to worry, but also not wanting to explode during a relatively nice outing. 

Kala had closed her eyes, breathing in. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Wolfgang, it's okay," she said, not opening her eyes, "I'm fine." 

"You are not fine, but that is okay." A voice chuckled. Kala's eyes flew open. It wasn't Wolfgang - it was Capheus, laughing. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought..." Kala shook herself. "I didn't realize that was you!" She smiled at him. Capheus often had a joy about him that was hard not to catch. 

"Yes, you thought I was loverboy," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She laughed. "Hey," he said, lifting her chin. "Courage. You can do this." 

"Thank you, Capheus," she breathed, smiling. 

"I cannot stay," he told her, "But I believe in you guys. Love conquers a great many barriers, and yours is strong. We all see it, they will too." He squeezed her shoulder, laughing, "Now go save your boy from your family!" And then he was gone. 

Although her parents were still not on board, and there were a few more little comments that made her blood boil, Kala felt a great deal better after that. 

"You have got yourself a smart boy here, Kala," her aunt said when she rejoined them, and Kala smiled at her. 

"I know, auntie." 

"His Hindi is excellent for a European, and I do like a man who can keep up with the women in a debate," her aunt winked, and Kala beamed. "Even if he _is_  wrong." Wolfgang snorted from a little ways ahead, looking back at Kala with the most radiant smile on his face, and her heart almost stopped. 

Yes, Kala thought, if her parents can't see how wonderful he is, then that is their problem entirely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had to put in a tiny little blueski mention because they're lovely and domestic and have their shit way more together than kala and wolfgang and i love them.  
> again - school is whack right now. all my profs are wildin and giving me everything at the same damn time, but i'm making time to write this because it makes me happy, so hopefully i'll be able to get the next chapter up in the next week or so. we'll see.  
> to be completely honest i have no clue where i'm going with this fic and i'm making it all up as we go along, but i'm glad you guys are enjoying it, i love reading your comments! much much much love.


	9. a better memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wolfgang gets to know the family. kala takes wolfgang to where she used to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back again! I really like this chapter - enjoy.

The next several days passed in a blur of colours and places and people. Kala brought Wolfgang to the temple, she brought him to the market, she brought him to her old high school. They went to see all the sights of the city with her parents, with Daya, or with her aunt, or any combination thereof. 

And it went  _well_. 

Daya and Wolfgang got on incredibly well. Daya was one to fill up the space between people with chatter and stories and questions, and Wolfgang liked to listen. 

"She reminds me of Felix," Wolfgang told Kala one night, "In a weird way." Kala beamed. 

Her aunt and Wolfgang continued to get on well, too. Kala had always been convinced that her aunt could find a way to connect with anyone - anyone who would listen to her. 

Wolfgang had always been a great listener. 

He knew exactly when to ask the right questions, and when to insert an opinion of his own. (Kala placed the responsibility for this ability squarely on Felix's shoulders.) 

"She is a whirlwind," Wolfgang whispered into Kala's ear as her aunt made them tea, happily chattering on about some political scandal, "But I like whirlwinds." Felix was a whirlwind, after all. As was Kala herself. Nomi, Lito. 

Wolfgang wasn't really a talker, and that was just as well. He enjoyed listening - to Felix, and his club stories and tales of damsels and constant cheery noise. To Lito, and his drama, his monologues, his crazy life as a gay action star. To Kala, and her scientific mini-lectures, her moral musings, her worrying, and her questions. And now, to Kala's sister and her aunt, as well. 

Even Kala's parents seemed to be coming around, in their own way. They were still cautious, sure. But they asked less personal questions, they shared less weary glances. Wolfgang listened to her father talk about new recipes, and they had a lengthy discussion about cuisine in Berlin. Her mother told them stories about her childhood - many of which, Kala had heard already, and so she knew they were for Wolfgang's benefit alone. 

They were warming up to him. 

Kala was  _happy_. 

 

Wolfgang let Kala lead him up the stairs, talking a mile a minute, happily telling him all about... chemicals or something? He was listening - he loved listening to her talk about work, her face lit up, she was so passionate, and it reminded him how fucking  _smart_ she was - but Wolfgang had nearly failed a couple of high school science classes, back in the day. He and Felix had spent more time in the movies, or out causing mayhem, than in the classroom. 90% of what she was saying went straight over his head. They were at Rasal Pharmaceuticals, and Kala was showing him around where she used to work. She wanted to introduce him to her friends here, show him around the offices he had only ever seen in his head. Rajan, apparently, was at some conference for the day, so she seemed relaxed and free - not at all worried, just excited to share her world with him. She paused on the stairs, pointed down a few flights. 

"That's where I first saw Angelica," she told him, "I was right here, walking down on my lunch. I thought I was going crazy." Wolfgang nodded, kissed the side of her head. "The next day, I _really_ thought I was crazy. I heard this awful thunderstorm, and I was looking everywhere for an umbrella - and it was beautiful and sunny outside!" She laughed. Something tugged at Wolfgang's memory. He thought back - 

"That was me," he told her, and her eyes lit up. "The day after Angelica appeared - I was at my grandad's funeral. It was storming like crazy. I was out in that fucking rain all day." 

She beamed at him, squeezed his hand. "We've been connected since the very beginning," she said happily, and he pressed another kiss to her forehead. 

"Thank God for gravity," he whispered into her hair, and she giggled before turning to pull him further up the stairs. 

Kala's friends ooh'ed and ahh'ed over him, demanding answers about Berlin and how they'd met and why had Kala stayed away so long. Mostly, they seemed very pleasant. They talked for a while about work things, and Wolfgang followed along without understanding half of the things that came out of their mouths.

"And what do you do, Wolfgang?" one of them asked, probably trying to include him in the conversation. He knew that he probably looked hopelessly out of place. He considered saying  _German organised crime_ for a moment, just to see the looks on their faces. He felt Kala catch onto that train of thought, heard her reprimand  _Wolfgang!_ in the back of his mind. So he just smirked. 

"Locksmith." 

"Oh! How interesting!"

He shrugged. "Not really. But I do like safes."

Wolfgang knew that none of these scientists gave a fuck about safes, which was perfectly fine with him. He let the conversation return to chemistry, happy to stand there next to Kala, letting his thumb brush absent-minded circles into the back of her hand, absorbing the appraising glances being thrown his way. Standing still and being stoic was one of the things he did best, and listening to Kala talk was one of the things he  _loved_ best. Honestly, it was a perfect situation. 

Or, at least, it was, until one of Kala's friends piped up, a little snarky, in Wolfgang's opinion, "Kala, I still can't believe you let Rajan Rasal get away." 

Wolfgang felt Kala stiffen at his side, her hand tightening on his. He could feel her anger as her eyebrows rose and she spat out " _Excuse_ me?" He could also feel her probing for his reaction, but honestly, he had kind of been expecting it, so he wasn't hugely bothered. 

Still, he let the smirk rise to the surface, let that reckless cocky edge show in his face. Felix liked to say that Wolfgang looked like this whenever he was itching for a fight. 

"It's like your entire body just screams  _I'm going to kick your ass, and I'm going to fucking enjoy it_ ," he'd tell Wolfgang, half in awe, half in reprimand. He usually followed this up with some mumbling about how Wolfgang was going to get them both killed one day. 

Wolfgang let that look come to the surface now. The one that told people that he was dangerous. The one that told them  _Don't fuck with me_. 

See, Wolfgang knew how to be intimidating. Kala, though, was the least intimidating person he knew. Usually. 

So, Wolfgang wasn't bothered by her friend's remark, but Kala was, so he was going to back her up the only way he knew how that didn't involve punching something. 

 

Kala had missed talking about science. They didn't know if Berlin was permanent, so she hadn't gotten a job there, and she hadn't really talked to any of her peers since she'd first left, back when Whispers had Wolfgang. It had been a long time, and she'd missed it. It was thrilling to be back. 

Wolfgang, she knew, was not really a science guy. He understood very little of the conversation, but she could feel nothing from him but contentment, and she was so, so grateful. She loved that he listened to her talk about work, although he didn't understand much of it. She loved that he stood here, with her, feeling  _happy_ even when she left him behind in the conversation. He rubbed circles into her hand with his thumb, and she leaned into him a little, expressing her gratitude that he wasn't the type of person to get upset or bored at this. 

It was refreshing. And peaceful. 

She also appreciated that Wolfgang didn't seem to care about being stared at, because all of her friends were sending him looks. Some were blatantly appreciative - Kala got a  _nice job girl_ eyebrow waggle and giggled. Some were simply appraising. Some were skeptical. Wolfgang let them all wash over him - he was no stranger to being looked at, and it didn't bother him in the slightest. 

This was also hugely relieving. It meant that Kala didn't have to worry about anything, and she lost herself in the science talk that she had so missed. 

It didn't last long. 

"Kala, I still can't believe you let Rajan Rasal get away." 

Kala was sick and tired of talking about Rajan. Every time he was mentioned, she felt this sickening wave of guilt, and sadness, and regret. She wanted it to go away, and yet it was brought up again and again and again. She felt her anger take over a little. 

" _Excuse_ me?" she snapped, her grip tightening on Wolfgang, expecting him to feel upset. Instead, she felt him change his entire posture, and she realized it was entirely on her behalf. She glanced at him and saw that the smirk was back, but with an edge. This was how he looked before he made someone regret they'd ever met him. She flashes back momentarily to him stalking towards Joaquin for Lito, with a similar expression. _Are we done? I think we're done._

It's slightly terrifying, she thinks as she snaps back to the present. Indeed, the offending party is starting to look like she regretted speaking entirely. 

"Rajan did not 'get away'", Kala starts on her, " _I_ left  _him_ , I did not love him. It is over, and I am sick and tired of everyone bringing him up every two seconds as if it is still a possibility." She put all of her frustration behind the words. She could say more, but her friend mumbled an apology and left the group with a frightened glance at Wolfgang, who was still looking like he'd like nothing more than to kick the shit out of someone. Kala smiled at him, squeezed his hand, thanking him for his strength. It is easy to stand up for yourself when Wolfgang Bogdanow stands beside you staring everyone down. He smiled back, briefly, and let his posture relax. He adopts a muted smirk, dials it down about fifty notches, and suddenly all of the rest of Kala's friends begin chattering at once, apologizing and fretting and claiming that they won't bring up Rajan again unless she wants to talk to them about it. 

 

Wolfgang chuckled when they eventually broke away, and Kala looked at him in question. 

He shrugged. "It's so easy to intimidate people. It's kind of fun." 

She rolled her eyes at him, a smile playing around her lips. "Of course  _you_ would think that is fun." He laughed. "Thank you though," she told him, leaning her head into his shoulder. 

"I'll intimidate the crap out of people anytime for you,  _schatz_ ," he teased, and she laughed, but stopped as she realized where she'd brought him. This was where she'd been, sobbing in her offices, that night in his uncle's house. 

_I guess I'm here to say goodbye_. 

The memory came back to both of them, and it was like standing there all over again, him looking at her with this deep, deep sadness and regret fighting through that mask of calm. Usually, whenever she thinks of this moment, and the sadness and terror she was feeling for him threaten to come crashing down again, she distracts herself by picturing his look of indignation just moments later when he had protested "Who wears a bulletproof vest in real life?" It was a useful trick, and it never failed to make her smile. On top of the look on his face, she loved the way the words sounded coming out of his mouth, for some strange reason. Maybe it was his tone - it was the first time she'd heard him use that indignant tone, and it was so mismatched with the severity of the situation that she smiled whenever she thought of it.

It was a useful trick, and it had never failed her. It failed her today. 

Wolfgang was still stood next to her, and it felt like she'd literally fallen back into the memory. 

_I guess I'm here to say goodbye_. 

It wrenches at her heart every time. In the days right after it happened, she would wake up every night sobbing, dreams filled with an angry, hurt little boy with blonde hair and twelve bullets ringing through her ears and his face when he looked at her when he walked away. And  _I guess I'm here to say goodbye_ , right before she woke up, every time. He was trying his damn hardest to avoid her back then, but there were a few times, when she was crying so hard she couldn't see through the tears, she thought she felt a hand rubbing her back or through her hair, thought she caught the scent of cigarettes and chlorine. He'd be gone by the time she settled herself down, every time. She sometimes wondered if he was really there, or if it was simply left over from her dream, her mind trying to conjure him to her. 

Back in the offices, tears rose in her eyes. She couldn't help it. 

Wolfgang, in the past, looked at her, his eyes sadder than she could bear, "I guess I'm here to say goodbye." Her mind screams  _No!_ She never wants to say goodbye to him. 

Wolfgang, in the present, crushed her to his chest, smelling of cigarettes and chlorine, one hand rubbing soothing circles in her back and the other in her hair. She clung to him, mumbling "I"m sorry," into his chest, feeling so grateful that this time, she knew he was really there. 

He mumbled to her in German, nonsense words and pet names, but mostly "I'm sorry," and "I'm here," over and over again. 

She pressed her face into his chest and gripped him closer, and let herself cry. When she finally pulled away to look at him, eyes red, but dry, they both say "I'm sorry," at the exact same moments, then burst into laughter. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she told him. He just looked at her, and suddenly a rush of memories that are not her own rush over her, tinged with regret.  _That's why you have to marry Rajan_ , he says, every word ripping from him painfully - Wolfgang alone at a bar, tipping back vodka and trying not to think of her, trying to build up walls - Lito saying  _You have to tell her_ and Wolfgang biting out  _I don't have to do anything_ before pushing him away - herself, twitching and crying in her sleep, waking up with a gasp and a sob, and Wolfgang knows exactly what she's dreaming about. He sits with her while she cries, and he wants to help her, wants to take her in his arms and tell her that he is  _okay_ , not to waste her tears on him, but he's filled with guilt and self-hatred and he  _can't_. This is why he's sorry. He pushed her away when she needed him. 

She was jolted back to the present. "You have nothing to be sorry for," she repeated forcefully, and before he can cut in, she barrels on, "But  _I_ am sorry for ruining your shirt." She wrinkled her nose, smoothing it out where her hands still rested on his chest, "It is lucky you are obsessed with black, otherwise I'm sure you would be able to see mascara stains." 

He laughed, "I don't care about my shirt. You have nothing to be sorry for." 

"Copycat," she muttered at him, but she's smiling.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then suddenly he took her face in his hands and kissed her, unbelievably sweet and tender. She responded, running one hand along his jaw and wrapping the other arm around his neck, pulling him closer. She deepened the kiss, trying to tell him everything she hadn't been able to put into words. She knew he was doing the same. They lost themselves in each other, in the middle of her old offices. 

They broke apart after, to Kala, what could have been a few seconds, or several sunlit days. She is unsure. They still stood with their foreheads pressed together, smiling at each other. Kala tilted her head a little at him in question, and he shrugs, smiling. "Now you have a better memory here," he said, almost shyly, "To replace all of the tears." 

"Wolfgang..." she murmured, brushing her fingertips across his cheek, his jaw, one arms still wrapped around his neck. She was at a loss for words, and her heart swelled with love for this man. "You're going to make me cry," she said finally, "But for a very different reason." He chuckled and pressed a light kiss to her nose. She finally, reluctantly disentangled herself from him, grabbing his hand instead, turning to lead him out. "Come on, I'll show you where..." she trailed off, having just caught the eye of the one person she had been _completely_ assured would  _not_ be here today. And he was staring straight at her. 

Kala swore in German. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all comments and kudos, are, as always, super appreciated!


	10. where the magic happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rajan observes. wolfgang and kala navigate another unexpected conversation with her ex-husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in a row? a miracle!  
> haha, enjoy, let me know what you think!

Rajan hadn't meant to be watching them.

Technically speaking, he wasn't supposed to be here at all. There had been a conference, but it had been cancelled, and so Rajan had the day off. He didn't know what to do with himself on days off. He never really had, not until Kala... and, well. Now he  _really_ didn't know what to do with himself on days off. So he'd come into work, intending to catch up on some paperwork and get ahead of some projects. Maybe observe some new hires just to see how they were adjusting. He had no shortage of work to do and he needed  _something_ to occupy his brain. 

He had been on his way down from his office, the idea of having a late lunch forming in his mind, when he saw them. Well. He'd seen  _him_ first this time. Wolfgang Bogdanow. Standing in the office with his black clothes and blonde hair and looking thoroughly out of place. Then he'd seen Kala, and there was a familiar flash of pain before he registered that she was crying. He hadn't seen her at first because she was wrapped up in the man's arms, tucked against his chest because she was  _crying_. Rajan stood frozen, unsure of what to do. He wanted to comfort her, to see what was wrong, but that wasn't his place anymore. Clearly. Instead, he stood rooted to the spot as she cried into the other man's chest. He was rubbing her back, stroking her hair, whispering into the top of her head, and Rajan felt this overwhelming rush of jealousy. It shouldn't be Wolfgang Bogdanow there comforting Kala. Wolfgang Bogdanow shouldn't even be in this country. He should be in Berlin, getting involved in dangerous things like all the nonsense that had turned up on Google. Kala should be far, far away from him. Kala should be in  _Rajan's_ arms. 

But she isn't, and he still can't move as she pulls out of Wolfgang's arms. Can't move as they speak at the same time and laugh together. Can't move when the man who stole Kala from him takes her face gently into his hands and kisses her like she is a goddess and he is worshiping. 

He feels angry, and then he feels numb. 

He is still standing there when they break apart, still standing there when Kala presses her forehead to this other man's, ghosts her fingers over his face and looks at him in a way that she had never,  _never_ looked at Rajan. 

He still feels numb. 

And he is still standing there, frozen to the spot, when she turns to lead Wolfgang somewhere and stares right at him, eyes puffy but face bright. 

He does not know what to do, but politeness is second nature, so somehow his feet are moving forwards, towards Kala -  _his_ Kala, and her boyfriend, who is looking at him with a smirk edged in danger, as if he would like nothing more than to eat him alive. 

 

The intimidating posture came back so easily. He didn't know if it was because he'd just called it to the surface mere minutes ago, or if it was his natural defense to Rajan's presence, but he didn't even have to think about it and it was back.  Not that he ever had to think about it much in the first place. There were some things that your body just got used to, with a family like his.

Kala sensed him shift to intimidation mode, and once she had recovered from her frozen state with a faint "Oh no," she shot him a pleading glance. "Be nice," she whispered. He said nothing. He'd suffered through  _two_ of her weddings to this guy, who she'd never loved, who never seemed to know her well enough to notice. He wasn't going to take any of his shit laying down. Kala, sensing the direction his thoughts were taking him, groaned, "Wolfgang," she said, her tone begging him to behave. 

He smiled at her. "I won't start anything. I promise. Happy?" 

"Not really, but it will do." 

He chuckled, and she gave him that I'm-annoyed-at-you-but-I- _love_ -you look and then Rajan was upon them. 

"Kala, Wolfgang, hello," he greeted them, nodding to each of them in turn. Wolfgang noted that it seemed to be a huge effort to acknowledge him in a friendly way. 

"Rajan!" Kala replied, sounding a little bit panicked, "I wasn't aware you'd be in today!" 

"Oh, yes," Rajan said, looking uncomfortable, "Sadly my conference was cancelled. I was catching up on some work." 

Kala nodded, clearly searching for something to say. Wolfgang said nothing and smirked at Rajan. He could feel Kala think  _typical_ at him in annoyance and he suppressed a laugh. How was he supposed to know what to say to the love of his life's ex-husband? Wolfgang didn't even say much to his best friend of 15 years. The silence stretched a little bit.

Suddenly, Lito was there. 

"It is always unfortunate to lose such an opportunity," he said in Kala's voice. "And what was the conference about?" 

As Rajan began an explanation of the benefits of some drug or another, Wolfgang looked to Lito, giving him a nod, impressed at how well he'd channeled Kala's speaking style. Lito shrugged, grinned.. "Sometimes I act you all out for Dani and Hernando when they want to know what is happening," he said, and Wolfgang grinned at him. He has a sudden vision of Lito in his kitchen in his underwear, arms crossed, glaring into space and talking with a German accent while Hernando and Dani look on. He resists the urge to burst into laughter at the sight of his own stoic silence on Lito's face, of all people. 

He was snapped back into the present at the sound of his name. 

"...Wolfgang around the offices, giving him an idea of what I used to do here," Kala said, gesturing at him. 

"And what do you think?" Rajan asked him. His tone was conversational, but Wolfgang could sense the challenge in it - this was Rajan's company, after all. 

"It's nice," he said, glancing at Kala, "It's good to finally see where the magic happens." He cut himself off before he could say _in person,_ and gave her an eyebrow raise, knowing exactly what she was going to say. 

"It's not magic, it's  _science_." He laughed. There it was. 

"Same thing," he shrugged at her. 

"I know I've bored you all day with scientific talk, but if you were listening, you would know-"

"I was listening," he protested, cutting her off, momentarily forgetting about Rajan completely. "You know I think it's sexy when you talk about work," he said lowly, smirking at her. 

Rajan let out a choked sort of cough sound, reminding Wolfgang unpleasantly of his presence, and Kala hit him on the arm, blushing. "Wolfgang!"

He felt a little bad, actually, but he just shrugged and smirked, said "It's true." Kala rolled her eyes at him, and he felt her resolve to leave this conversation immediately, politeness be damned. 

"Anyways, Wolfgang, we should be going, I want to show you a few more things before we meet my family for dinner at that new restaurant." She paused, frowned. "Did I tell you about the dinner yet?"

Wolfgang nodded and grinned at her. "Twice."

"Oh," she frowned, "Yes, well, anyways, we must be going. It was nice to see you Rajan," she sent him a smile. 

He gave a weak sort of smile back, "And you as well, Kala. But before you go..." Wolfgang and Kala groaned in harmony in the back of their minds. The sooner they were out of this situation, the better. Rajan turned to Wolfgang. "Do you have any lunch plans Monday?" Wolfgang looked at Kala, who shook her head. It was Friday, and she only had plans for the weekend lined up. "Good then - would it be alright if I took you on that lunch we talked about last time? I have a few things I wish to speak to you about." 

Wolfgang knew that it was a really fucking bad idea. And here he was, being presented with the perfect opportunity to make some excuse and decline. But he was curious about what Rajan wanted to say to him that he didn't want to say in front of Kala. The man's very presence made him angry - made him remember bad choices and the stupid, constant pain that accompanied knowing that Kala was married to someone else. There were a few things he wanted to say to Rajan as well. Plus, Wolfgang never shied away from confrontation, from a challenge. 

So he shrugged, "Sure." 

 

"I cannot believe you," Kala told Wolfgang as she pulled him away from Rajan, the details of the lunch all set up. She was gripping his hand possibly a bit harder than was strictly necessary, but he didn't complain.

"What was I supposed to do, say no?" he said.

"Yes! That is exactly what you were supposed to do!" She exclaimed, stopping and turning so abruptly that he nearly crashed into her, stopping with his chest inches from her. He rested his hands on her shoulders, and she leaned into his touch before remembering she was mad at him. 

He quirked an eyebrow. "Aren't you curious?"

"No."

"Not at all?" he was smiling now, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing. "You don't want to know what he wants to discuss with me that he doesn't want you there for?"

"No," she said stubbornly, and Wolfgang's eyebrows climbed further. "Fine, I admit, I am a little curious, although I would assume it will be some macho nonsense and he will ask you not to hurt me, or something of the sort." She said this all very fast, and Wolfgang just laughed, rubbed her arms. "As if you could," she added, just to see Wolfgang's face. She expected him to look offended, but he just laughed again. 

"No, I could never hurt you,  _schatz_ ," he told her seriously, and she smiled, mollified. Then he added, with a playful smile, "You would just blow me up with some magic science shit before I could get the chance." 

She smacked him on the shoulder, laughing. "Don't you forget it," she said, and he grinned at her. 

"Never." 

She led him up the stairs to the next lab happily, knowing that she could never hurt him either. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos always appreciated!  
> next chapter to come soon - only a few more to go, im thinking


	11. you know nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lunch

Kala visited with Wolfgang the entire walk to the restaurant Rajan had chosen. He was being annoyingly quiet and calm, so Kala filled up the silence.

“I still can’t believe you agreed to this,” she muttered. “What if he tries to fight you? That would go horribly wrong, Wolfgang, promise me you will not kill my ex-husband!” Wolfgang chuckled and said nothing. “You could turn around,” she suggested hopefully, “Say you were sick. Stomach flu. Food poisoning!” He shot her a look that clearly said he had never claimed sickness to get out of anything, and he wasn’t about to start. She rolled her eyes ay his stubbornness, and he chuckled fondly at her expression.

They had almost reached the restaurant. Kala fretted some more and Wolfgang walked on in silence. He paused at the door, pushed at her consciousness with his own.

“Don’t snoop,” he smirked, and pushed through the door.

Kala frowned. And then she snooped.

 

Rajan got to the restaurant early. He usually did – he liked to be punctual – but he made a point of it for this particular lunch, because he sure wasn’t going to be shown up by Wolfgang Bogdanow, not today. He chose a seat facing the door, fixed his eyes on it, and wondered at the fact that he was actually doing this. Confronting his ex-wife’s new boyfriend – a man who, if the internet was to be believed, was probably very dangerous. Rajan assumed that Kala didn’t know about Wolfgang’s past. Kala was smart. She was logical. He had to assume that she wouldn’t knowingly get involved with someone like that.

Rajan had a clear view of Wolfgang as he approached the restaurant. Just as he had the last two times they’d met, the man was wearing all black, which made no sense when you considered the heat, but to each their own. Wolfgang paused at the door, turned. It looked almost like he was talking to someone, but no one was there. Odd, but Rajan dismissed it quickly, because then Wolfgang was walking right towards him, and he had other things to worry about.

 

It turned out that sinking into intimidation mode _was_ Wolfgang’s natural defence to Rajan’s presence, just as it had been to any number of particularly dangerous people home in Berlin. Rajan, though, wasn’t dangerous, unless you counted that political corruption bullshit, which Wolfgang didn’t.

He could feel Kala behind him as he pulled out a chair, with a nod to Rajan. If he had been anywhere else, he would have smiled – of _course_ she was still hovering behind him after he’d told her not to snoop. Of course she ignored him completely. Wolfgang had been surprised, originally, to find that Kala completely ignoring what he told her to do was endearing, rather than completely fucking irritating, as it was with everybody else (with the occasional exception of Felix.)

Rajan didn’t smile as Wolfgang sat down. “Glad you could make it,” he said, and Wolfgang just nodded again. Once the waiter had come by to take their orders and flitted off again, Rajan regarded Wolfgang carefully. “So, I assume you are curious about why I wished to speak with you.” Wolfgang nodded, raised his eyebrows.

“Obviously,” came a voice to his left, and he glanced over to see Lito, reclining in one of the chairs at the table next to them, a bag of popcorn in hand. “I’ve got your back, brother,” he winked, and Kala giggled from where she stood behind Wolfgang, leaning her hands on the back of his chair. Wolfgang ignored them.

“I did a little digging on your background – for Kala’s sake, I hope you understand. And – I mean – there were some things that I found that were… less than savory –”

“And?” Wolfgang cut him off. He didn’t let anything show on his face, kept it schooled into a disinterested neutral, but his hands clenched into fists under the table. Rajan looked a little taken aback at being interrupted, although if he had really done his research, what had he expected? Wolfgang to sit there quietly while Rajan talked high and mighty about a past that he knew nothing about? His nails bit into his palms. Kala touched a hand to his shoulder, and he relaxed into her touch.

Lito crunched on popcorn and commented, “He is very nervous around you,” as Rajan seemed to consider how to say what he wanted to say next. Wolfgang resisted the urge to say _Good_.

“Your family –” Rajan began, but Wolfgang didn’t want to talk about his family, especially not here, with _him_.

“You know nothing,” he cut him off, “About my family.”

“I understand there was a shooting last year? I’m sorry for your loss.” He doesn’t sound sincere.

Wolfgang snorted. “They were all monsters. The world is better off without them.”

Rajan didn’t say anything for a moment and Lito pointed, “He wasn’t expecting that!” he said excitedly. “I think he misjudged you.” Wolfgang smirked a little at that, and leaned back into the hand Kala still had gripping his shoulder, letting himself take comfort in her touch. She gave him a squeeze and the waiter came by with their plates. Once he has whisked away, Rajan spoke again.

“Kala,” he said quietly, and Wolfgang felt her jump a little at his shoulder, not expecting to hear her name. “Does she know?”

Wolfgang looks him in the eyes. “Yes.”

Rajan pales. “She– she knows?”

Wolfgang holds his gaze. “She knows everything. She knows more than you do.”

Rajan gaped at him for a moment, and Kala bristles behind him. “Did he think I was stupid enough to live with you in Berlin for all that time and not know anything about your life?” Wolfgang, in response, shrugged a little bit under her hand – a hand which was now gripping him much harder than was strictly comfortable. She loosened her grip, gave him a soft squeeze, then let go of him altogether, electing instead to cross her arms.

Rajan seemed to get a hold of himself. “She– I cannot stand for this. You are putting her in danger. She shouldn’t be in Berlin, she could be hurt, she could –”

“No,” Wolfgang said suddenly, halting Rajan in his tracks. “That isn’t your decision to make. Or mine.”

“She could get killed!”

“I know!” Wolfgang raised his voice a little for the first time. He closed his eyes, trying to forget that Kala stood right behind him. “I know,” he said again, intensely. “And I already tried, okay? That isn’t my life anymore, but she could still get hurt. I tried a long time ago to save her from that, to get her to stay away from me, but you should _know_ by now that Kala doesn’t often let people make decisions for her.” It was the most that he’d ever said in Rajan’s presence, and the other man looked sort of stunned. Distantly, Wolfgang was aware of Lito’s clapping.

“A speech worthy of any movie!” Lito was whooping, and Wolfgang smiled, but he wasn’t really sure where to go from there. Rajan wasn’t saying anything, so, feeling uncomfortable, Wolfgang sent him a cocky smile.

“Plus, I can protect her just fine.”

“As if I need protecting,” he heard, but Kala’s voice was playful, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind, leaning her chin on the crook of his neck. He couldn’t see her face, but her touch was soft and warm and familiar, and he took comfort in it. “Come back to me?” she asked, and he could feel her smiling softly into his neck. He nodded, and she let go of him so that he could stand, digging some money out of his pocket.

“Thanks for lunch,” he said, throwing some onto the table. He started to turn to leave.

“Wolfgang.”

He looked back reluctantly.

“Don’t hurt her.”

Wolfgang just looked at Rajan for a second, feeling angry even at the suggestion. “Never.” And he stalked out, flanked by Kala, hand in his, and Lito, laughing and chattering.

He had just reached the sidewalk when he hears his name being called again. He turned with a sigh as Rajan ran up to him.

“What,” he said, a little harshly, just wanting to get to his hotel room, where Kala was waiting.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… I have to do this.”

And then Rajan punched him.

 

Rajan didn’t know what he’d been thinking, punching someone like Wolfgang. Rajan wasn’t a fighter. He was in pharmaceutical sales. He’d just been so angry, at so many things. At Wolfgang’s _a long time ago_ , which meant that she’d probably known about Wolfgang’s past when she’d chosen him over Rajan. At the implication that Wolfgang knew Kala better than he did. At the fact that Wolfgang hadn’t even denied _anything_ , hadn’t even tried to pretend. At the fact that he was probably going back to Kala right now. At himself, for allowing any of this to happen.

The anger had boiled over as Wolfgang walked away, and so Rajan found himself chasing him.

And then he found himself punching him.

 

Wolfgang had honestly not been expecting the punch at all, and he was far too slow to react. He didn’t have a chance to block the blow, or dodge it – even his instincts had seemed to abandon him on pure, undiluted surprise.

When, earlier, Kala had fretted about Rajan trying to fight him, Wolfgang had dismissed it immediately. Yes, it would be a natural reaction, but everything he had seen from Rajan so far made him assume that the man would rather fight Wolfgang with words.

Clearly, he had underestimated Rajan Rasal.

The punch hit him clear in the nose and mouth – Wolfgang had broken his nose enough times to recognise the type of pain, and he tasted the tang of blood in his mouth already. It was dripping from his nose, from his mouth, from his lip. He took a quick inventory.

Broken nose. Split lip.

 Kala stood next to him, saying “Oh no, no, no, no, no. Wolfgang don’t hurt him, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, don’t punch back.” Lito was throwing out strings of curses in Spanish, and Wolfgang tried very hard to tune them both out as Rajan came back for more.

 

Wolfgang’s head had snapped back with Rajan’s first punch, but he didn’t fall. He looked back at Rajan slowly, blood beginning to gush from his nose. He raised his eyebrows at him, and grinned through the blood.

“You have one chance to walk away.”

Rajan didn’t walk away. Instead, he swung again.

 

Wolfgang was ready for the second punch.

He wondered, as he deflected Rajan’s fist, if the reason it had been so easy for Rajan to land a punch on him had to do with a lack of practise, due to the time spent recovering in the hospital, or if it was instead because he’d gotten complacent with the destruction of BPO – too comfortable. Maybe it was both.

However, Wolfgang was paying attention now. And he wasn’t about to let Rajan land another one.

 

Rajan kept swinging.

This time, Wolfgang ducked, caught the fist intended for his face neatly.

“You don’t want to do this.”

“Yes, I do.” Rajan struck out with his foot, but Wolfgang just sighed, pushing Rajan’s fist away from him, _hard_ , at just the right moment, so that Rajan lost his balance and went sprawling to the ground. A crowd was forming around them.

“Fight back,” he spat at Wolfgang as he stood up, almost desperately. Wolfgang just shook his head, his jaw tense, his fists clenched. Rajan aimed another punch at him, this time at his jaw, but he deflected this too.

He gritted something out between his teeth, so quietly Rajan could hardly hear. It sounded like _You expect me to just let him punch me?_ It made no sense, because Rajan had no idea who he could be talking to. He was looking kind of off to the side, momentarily distracted, and so Rajan took advantage.

He flew out a fist once again, catching Wolfgang off guard, connecting just below the left eye. Wolfgang absorbed it, smirking at him again, somehow.

“Sorry,” he said.

Then he punched Rajan so hard the world went black.


	12. i am not going back there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to preface this by saying that I know nothing about broken noses - i have broken lots of bones but never my nose.

Wolfgang left Rajan on the sidewalk and disappeared into the fray of people that had surrounded them, walking quickly, stripping his shirt from his shoulders and pressing it to his nose, which was still gushing blood. He winced at the touch. Definitely broken.

“Wolfgang, you can’t just leave him there!” Kala strode alongside him.

“There are plenty of people there to help. Someone already called a hospital, I saw them. He’s barely outside the restaurant, they’ll keep things under control as well, and they have access to water and towels,” he tells her, presenting it in the most logical way he can, wanting her to trust that decision. “He’s not going to want to see me when he wakes up, it’s better for both of us that I clear out.”

Kala considers this in silence, thinks it through, nods. “Okay.”

He looked at her, amused. “Really? You’re not going to question me?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Are you going to yell at me?”

“Oh yes, but not right now.”

He laughed, then winced. Laughing hurt. The adrenaline was wearing off and he could feel the injuries much, much more than he had originally. Still, he’d suffered through much worse. He kept walking.

“Wolfgang,” Kala said softly, “You need to go to a hospital.”

 

Kala was concerned.

Yes, she was concerned for Wolfgang, who probably had a broken nose, was bleeding profusely and was walking at a brisk pace in the exact opposite direction of the nearest hospital.

Also, though, she was concerned for herself, because it was definitely problematic that she found the sight of her boyfriend covered in blood and fresh from a fight to be so _attractive_. His hair was mussed, his eyes were bright and electric from the adrenaline, there was blood drying on his face and _why_ did that look so _good_. Somehow, instead of looking beaten up, Wolfgang just looked dangerous – he looked alive.

Apparently, it was impossible for Wolfgang to look bad, even when he’d just gotten punched in the face.

It definitely hadn’t helped when he stripped off his shirt to press to his nose instead. That was just unfair. Honestly, it wasn’t Kala’s fault. She forced herself to pay attention to the matter at hand.

“Wolfgang, you need to go to a hospital.”

“No.”

“Your nose might be broken.”

“It is.”

“Exactly! You need medical attention.”

“No.”

“Wolfgang, you may be resilient, but you can’t just skip hospital because you –”

“Kala, I am not going back there.”

And suddenly, images were rushing over her, so quick and violent that she was pretty sure he hadn’t purposefully meant to share them at all.

Wolfgang at 12, laying in a hospital bed with only Felix at his side, his face bruised and bloodied and his arm in a sling. His father, telling him that only pussies go to hospitals – “Man up, boy.” Wolfgang, at Felix’s hospital bedside for weeks, terror overwhelming him at all hours of the day that his brother would die and he would be all alone. Whispers standing over Wolfgang, smiling, saying “Mrs. Kala Rasal. Thank you Wolfgang.” Wolfgang in that hospital bed in Berlin, at some point when Kala and Felix and the rest of the cluster had been out and he had been alone, this horrible wave of helplessness crashing over him.

 _I am not going back there_.

“Okay,” she told him softly. “Come here.” She dragged him into a side alley that is less crowded, backs him against a wall.

He grinned at her, all mischief, and said, “Now isn’t really the time, _schatz_.”

“Shush you.” She swatted at his shoulder lightly and blushed. “I just want to see your nose.”

He chuckled and pulled her closer before she can reach up to take the shirt from him. “You sure danger doesn’t turn you on?” He quirked an eyebrow at her playfully.

She gave him a quick kiss to his jaw, saying, “ _You_ are unbelievable,” trying to ignore how much his statement reflected her train of thought just minutes ago. “Now let me see.”

She reached up and gently tugged the shirt from his fingers, brushed her fingers over his nose, his split lip. _Objective medical standpoint_ , she reminds herself.

“It definitely appears to be broken,” she said, “But I think I should be able to at least attempt to clean you up myself, and we can go from there.”

He smiled at her softly, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Perfect. I’ll come to you at the hotel.”

“No, no, you can’t do that! You cannot just bleed all over the hotel room, you won’t get back the deposit. And you’ll look like a murderer!”

He laughed. “I don’t care about the deposit, babe. Or looking like a murderer.”

“Well, I do. Plus, I won’t have any supplies here… No, we’ll have to go to my parents’ house, I should have almost everything I need there, I can grab a few things on the way.”

Wolfgang nodded slowly. “And your parents… they won’t have a problem with me showing up on their door covered in blood?”

“I have no idea, I assume they’ll have a lot of questions, but really it’s the only option that makes sense, so I’m afraid we will find out.”

“Okay.” He leaned down to kiss her, but she stopped him with a finger to his lips.

“Wolfgang,” she scolded, “You do realise your entire mouth is covered in blood?”

He laughed. “You think it’s hot, though.”

She felt her face go hot. “I – no, absolutely not! Wolfgang, the sanitary concerns _alone_!” All he does is look at her, raise his eyebrows, the beginnings of a smirk on his lips. “Okay, fine, _maybe_ I do, however, that doesn’t mean that I _actually –_ ”

“Since you’re not actually here,” he interrupted, “There are no sanitary concerns. Fantasy, remember?”

And then he kissed her. And this time she let him.

 

Wolfgang showed up to Dandekar restaurant before Kala, who had been farther away and needed to stop in at a store anyways. Which was far from ideal, because it meant that he had to walk into her parents’ house looking like death personified with literally zero warning, and then… explain? Hide? Say nothing? He had literally no idea what he was going to do. And he was there, which meant he had to do _something_ , and soon.

Her family swarmed him practically the moment he walked in.

“Wolfgang!” Daya had screeched, “Oh my, are you okay?”

“Are you alright, do you need an ambulance?” asked her mother urgently.

“No, no, I don’t need an ambulance, I’m fine,” he said, smiling slightly, “Is Kala here?” He knew Kala was a mile away, browsing hurriedly through shelves, but… pretenses.

“We thought she was with you,” her mother said, :Is she okay?”

“She’s fine; she was supposed to meet me back here. She must be on her way,” he told her hurriedly, not wanting her to worry.

Her father, who had disappeared, returned with a damp washcloth, which Wolfgang accepted gratefully.

“What happened, my son?” he asked, and Wolfgang felt a deep flash of pride – Sanyam had never referred to him as son before.

“Do you have a moment?” he asked. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this double update!  
> Shout out to all of yall for your kudos, comments and love! xoxo


	13. i like trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wolfgang talks to kala's family. kala looks after his injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy NaNoWriMo y'all!

Kala’s family were quiet as he recounted the events of the past day to them. When he finally fell silent, Sanyam was shaking his head, and Priya had covered her mouth with her hands.

“Rajan did this to you?” Daya repeated, sounding incredulous. “I can’t believe he would do such a thing!” Wolfgang sighed and closed his eyes. His head was pounding.

“I don’t blame him,” he said softly. And he didn’t. He was sure that if he was in that position, he would have done much worse.

“Violence should never be one’s response,” said Sanyam calmly, “no matter what the injury.” Wolfgang nearly laughed out loud. His entire life was violence.

“Life is violent,” came a voice from the doorway, and Wolfgang opened his eyes to see Kala, shopping bag in hand. He smiled at her tiredly and she dropped the bag and rushed to his side. “Wolfgang, oh my goodness,” she breathed, hands on his face, eyes taking inventory of his injuries once again.

“Kala, you should take him to a hospital,” Priya said, sounding worried, but Kala shook her head.

“I’m going to take care of him.”

“Kala, you aren’t a doctor –”

“I know. But Wolfgang doesn’t like hospitals, and it doesn’t look overly complicated. I have all the necessary supplies.”

Wolfgang gave an apologetic sort of grimace to her family. “I’ve had some bad experiences with hospitals.”

“Okay then, of course,” Priya nodded, some of the confusion drained from her face.

“It’s not so bad,” he reassured them, “I’ve had much worse injuries from fighting.” He isn’t sure if this reassured them or made them more concerned, but it didn’t matter, really. Kala had made up her mind, and they listened to her.

“Could one of you grab me some painkillers?” She asked, and as Daya disappeared to fetch them, she touched her forehead to his. “Thank you,” she told him softly.

He smiled. “What for?”

“For holding back.”

Her parents were still in the room, still looking at him in concern, and he wondered briefly what they thought of the fact that him “holding back” was knocking Rajan out cold –he had originally considered leaving that bit out of the story, but reconsidered. He hated lying. They may as well know.

“Hm. You can’t tell anyone about that. It’ll ruin my street cred.”

Kala laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, I am going to tell _everyone_.”

“You’re a terrible girlfriend,” he teased, and she laughed again.

“You’re not allowed to say that when I’m about to literally fix up your face.”

He snorted a laugh out and grimaced as the pain shot through his nose. “Okay fine, you’re a wonderful girlfriend.”

“Oh I know,” she said, grinning. “You’re very lucky to have me, you know.”

“I know,” he agreed, and she smiled.

“Okay,” she told him, getting up from her spot next to him. “I’m going to get what I need. Stay right there, and take the painkillers when Daya comes back.” She pressed a hand to his cheek, and then whisked off. Wolfgang sighed, leaning back into the couch and closing his eyes again. As much as he was sure that having Kala look after him was going to be enjoyable, he mostly just wanted this day to be over. He yearned for his comfortable plush bed back in the hotel.

“Your reflexes are getting slow.” Wolfgang opened his eyes to Sun, meditating on a hill somewhere in Seoul. He gave her a half-hearted sort of glare, and she rolled her eyes. “He never should have been able to hit you.”

He shrugged. “Haven’t had to do much fighting in a little while.” Things had been fairly quiet on both the sensate front and the Berlin front. The only fighting he did recently was with a punching bag, and that wasn’t exactly the same.

“You should spar with me,” Sun said. Wolfgang, surprised, found himself nodding.

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

“You will lose,” she warned, “But it will be good practice for the both of us.” Wolfgang snorted at the insult, grimacing once more at the pain that shot through his nose, and nodded. They had very different styles of fighting – it would be useful for the both of them. “You look terrible, by the way,” she added, earning another glare that he didn’t really mean. And then he was back in the Dandekar’s living room, accepting painkillers from Daya and a clean cloth from Priya for his nose.

“Sorry,” he said as he handed her the one he’d used to clean his face, now covered in blood, although the bleeding had finally stopped.

“Do not apologize, Wolfgang,” she tsk’ed at him, and he found himself feeling a strange sort of warmth in his chest that he really wasn’t used to. _You’re not used to being taken care of_ , a voice whispered in the back of his mind. He wasn’t sure if it came from him or from one of the others, but either way, it was true.

Kala marched back into the room, her hands full of gauze and other medical-type stuff Wolfgang didn’t know the names for. She set it down on the coffee table and kneeled down in front of him.

“Painkillers?”

“Yup.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Fucking terrible.”

She giggled. “Okay. Let’s get started.”

Kala made a makeshift splint for his nose, cleaned up and disinfected his split lip, then applied a suture strip. She gave him an ice-pack for the black eye that was blooming, and made sure there were no bones broken around his eye, just in case. She did a few quick tests to make sure he didn’t have a concussion. There was another cut at his eyebrow that she cleaned and bandaged just like the split lip, and then all that was left to be done was to clean up any dried blood left behind.

“You’re lucky that your nose wasn’t disfigured, because although I do have some medical knowledge, I’m certainly not capable of re-aligning noses,” she told him as she dabbed at his face gently with a cloth. It was a strangely intimate gesture, and Wolfgang found himself just smiling softly at her. She smiled back in the same way automatically. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You really are a wonderful girlfriend, you know,” he said, and he meant it.

“So are you.”

“I’m a wonderful girlfriend?” he teased.

“Boyfriend, I mean. Obviously,” she laughed.

“Nah, I’m not. I just go around and get myself into trouble,” he grinned. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.”

“Well,” she said, putting down the cloth and pressing a light kiss over his nose splint, “Perhaps I like trouble. Life is just boring without it.”

“See,” he said, still grinning. “Wonderful. You're perfect. Every other guy on the planet should be jealous of me.”

She laughed. “Okay, I think the pain meds are kicking in. As much as I enjoy compliments and seeing you under the influence of medication, we should probably get you to sleep.” She stood up, extending a hand to him. He took it, hauling himself up from the couch.

“Only if you come with me.”

“Of course. Apparently, I can’t let you out of my sight, or you go get yourself punched in the face. Come on," she said, pulling him with her. 

“Technically,” he said, as she led him to her bedroom, “I _was_ in your sight.”

She shushed him, looking around for her parents. Upon finding they were alone, she said, “Well, I suppose so. Regardless, apparently you need to be under constant supervision.”

“It’s not like it was _my_ fault,” he complained, but then she was pushing him lightly into the bed and he lost his train of thought.

“ _Sleep_ , Wolfgang,” she commanded, sounding amused. He sank into her mattress gratefully, remembering that he was exhausted, and opened his arms to her. She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she crawled into his arms.

"Kala," he mumbled as he pulled her to him, already nearly drifting off. "I love you."

"I love you too, now go to sleep." She cuddled up to his chest, and he fell asleep to her softly carding her fingers through his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love fluff. 
> 
> side note:  
> i'm going to try to finish this fic and another wip for nanowrimo, so expect pretty frequent updates! only a couple more chapters left before this fic is done.


	14. friendship is inconvenient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix finds out about Wolfgang's nose. Kala does some shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops sorry that i said i was going to update a lot and then i didn't! i'm trash i'm sorry. 
> 
> note- any medical related stuff is entirely made up and probably incorrect. I know nothing. I am a writer, not a person of medical knowledge.
> 
> in this chapter we get lots of friendships! enjoy

When Wolfgang woke up he felt terrible, but in a very familiar way. Why was it always his nose? Honestly, he was surprised it wasn't fucking crooked by now. He could already hear Felix's reaction in his head. 

"Seriously, Wolfie? You broke your fucking nose again? You leave me for what, a week? A week and a half? Who goes to India and breaks their fucking nose!"

Sometimes it felt like Felix was the ninth cluster member, his thoughts took on his brother's voice so often. 

Wolfgang groaned and rolled over, grabbing for his phone. Kala wasn't there - it was bright out, and his phone informed him it was nearly noon. Those painkillers had knocked him out for... what, nearly 20 hours straight? It made sense. He always slept like the dead after a fight, which Felix always declared "fucking weird", and that was without that intense medication. 

Speaking of Felix, Wolfgang groaned at the sheer amount of texts waiting for him. 

 

**From: Felix**

YOU BROKE YOUR FUCKING NOSE? 

**From: Felix**

AGAIN?!

**From: Felix**

u fucking idiot, wolfie 

**From: Felix**

this is the most u thing that has ever happened

 

And that was just the beginning. Wolfgang wasn't at all surprised to see that they followed a _very_ similar path to his earlier prediction. He glared at the ceiling.

"Which one of you assholes told him?" he growled into the empty bedroom. Lito appeared at the end of the bed almost immediately. 

"I'm sorry brother," he said, grinning. Wolfgang glared at him. 

" _Why._ "

"He was complaining that you weren't answering your phone!" Lito said, still grinning, still looking very far from sorry. "So I told him you were bust taking care of your injuries, and then of course he wanted to know what injuries and why, so of course I had to tell him the entire story." The smirk Lito sent him reminded him eerily of Felix himself. "In detail." 

Wolfgang doesn't think that he could make his face glare any harder than he was glaring at Lito. Lito, however, was looking cheerily unconcerned. 

"Your nose brace is cute," he winked at him. "I wish I could take a photo. Felix would love it." 

Wolfgang (miraculously) managed to glare harder. Lito just laughed, and so Wolfgang gave up and rolled his eyes. 

"Your friendship is inconvenient," he muttered. Lito errupted into laughter, clapping Wolfgang on the leg. 

"I'm sorry, brother. But I like Felix," he said. "Great taste in movies." Wolfgang rolled his eyes again, but this time he can't quite fight the smile from inching onto his face. Not so deep down, he loved that Felix got along well with the cluster. Even if it was a pain in the ass sometimes. 

Lito snapped his fingers suddenly. 

"I've got it," he said excitedly. "I'll get Kala to take a photo! She can put it in the group chat!" 

And Wolfgang was back to glaring again. "No. Photos." he emphasized. Lito just grinned and didn't answer, patting him again on the leg. 

"Oh, I have to go, Hernando is cooking, and it smells so good to wait another second." Wolfgang tried to take a deep breath in, trying to catch the smell through the connection, but only succeeded in causing a violent shooting pain through his nose. He and Lito winced in unison. 

"Sorry," he said at Lito's pained expression. "I'll take your word for it." 

Lito nodded solenmly, before suddenly reverting back to the grin. "Goodbye, brother. Don't break any more bones!" he yelled, and disappeared so suddenly that Wolfgang didn't even have the time to make a face at him. He opted for rolling his eyes at Kala's bedroom ceiling instead, then frowned at his phone, trying to construct a response to Felix - that man asked  _way_ too many questions. His phone buzzed again in his hands, the texts coming in rapid succession. 

 

**From: Felix**

Lito says you're awake

**From: Felix**

don't ignore me, u asshole

**From: Felix**

dont think i wont call kala. i fucking will

 

Wolfgang sighed, thought the word  _traitor_ as hard as he could in Lito's direction (all he got in return was laughter) and typed in the response that he knew would annoy Felix the most. 

 

**From: Wolfgang**

shut up

 

He waited until he saw Felix typing a response before he hit call. 

Felix answered the phone without even a hello. 

"I can't believe you broke your fucking nose!" 

Wolfgang sighed. "I need better friends." 

"Don't be an idiot, no one else would put up with your bullshit," came the cheerful reply. Wolfgang only smiled because he knew that Felix couldn't see him. 

 

Kala had found it strange to spend time wandering around the city for so many hours without Wolfgang, and this surprised her immensely. How quickly he had woven himself into the fabric of her life.

It wasn't that she was incapable of entertaining herself without him. It wasn't like they were together  _all_ the time, and Kala had a lot of things to do that didn't require him in the slightest. It was just that she had gotten used to that presence at her side, used to turning to tell him anecdotes, used to grabbing his hand as she wound her way through the streets and the crowds. But when she'd woken up, Wolfgang was still sleeping, and showed no signs of waking any time soon. He'd been so exhausted and delirious when she'd pushed him into bed the day before that she couldn't find it in her to drag him awake. She did, however, wonder if maybe they shouldn't have given him  the very potent medical grade painkillers. He probably wouldn't have complained with just some Advil, and by now he would be awake and she wouldn't have to keep catching herself turning to speak to someone who wasn't there. 

Still. She had been worried about the pain from his nose bothering him in his sleep - she had a vague recollection of jolting awake to searing pain. As she had never broken her nose before, she had to assume this came from his own past personal experience, and it had seemed so unpleasant and painful that she definitely didn't want him to have to suffer through it again, not if she could help it. Plus, the medication combined with the exhaustion following an adrenaline rush had made him adorably earnest and sweet. So... she didn't really regret that decision at all. 

Her parents and sister, though, all had work during the day, and Wolfgang was well out of commission, and Kala didn't have any plans. So she found herself out in the markets, steadily collecting shopping bags. She was still feeling shaken up from the fight - with Wolfgang's injuries and his refusal to go to a hospital, she hadn't had much time or left over brain space to process it until now. She never would have imagined Rajan to fight anyone, no matter what they'd done. She felt a sort of responsibility for his turning to this violence, as if she'd driven him to it - although that was silly. She knew Rajan made his own choices. But it had been  _her_ that had begged Wolfgang not to defend himself, and so she also felt very guilty about his injuries, and... well, it had been unexpected, violent, and jarring.  Usually, when something like this happened, she turned to Wolfgang. He had been born into violence, and his perspective on it differed so much from hers... whether he tried to comfort her, or disagreed with her, she came out of it feeling...  _clearer_. But Wolfgang was passed out in her childhood bed peacefully. So Kala turned to the one thing that she could think of to calm her racing mind: retail therapy. 

She was heading back to check on Wolfgang, laden with purchases, mind feeling a little lighter, when Capheus fell into step with her. 

"Hello," she said warmly, "How are you?"

"I am good," he said, smiling, and Kala smiled back automatically. Capheus always raised her spirits. "But how are  _you_?" 

Kala sighed a little. "I don't know," she said honestly. 

"Hey," he said, "Remember, life is violent sometimes. It is not for us to control. All we can do is fight it, and minimize it as best we can." 

"I know," she told him, and she did. Being a sensate helped change her perspective on a great many things. "I just feel so responsible, and Wolfgang is hurt, right after he recovered! And I don't even know what happened to Rajan, and all of it is my fault, they never should have even met. And I should have stopped Wolfgang from going! And - " 

"Breathe," Capheus interrupted, hand on her shoulder. She did. "It was not your fault, Kala."He grinned wryly. "We all know nobody can stop Wolfgang once he has made up his mind." Kala laughed at this, and Capheus' face lit up at the sound. "He is tough," he added. "He will be fine." 

"You're right," she told him, feeling a little bit better.  "Thank you." 

"It is not a problem," he said. "I must go. Will you be alright?"

Kala nodded. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could feel Wolfgang, knew that he was up and awake. She was nearly home by now, too. 

"Goodbye then," Capheus smiled, and Kala was left feeling so much lighter than before.

Kala entered her bedroom later to the sound of Felix's voice. 

"- some random fucking businessman breaks your nose. Unbelievable. You're getting soft! That's embarrassing, Wolfie!"

Wolfgang chuckled. "Fuck off." 

"No, seriously! -" Wolfgang noticed Kala as Felix ranted in over the line, and he beamed at her. 

"-Guy like that, should have -"

"Felix, I gotta go," Wolfgang cut him off. 

"What the hell Wolfie! What could possibly be more important that your oldest friend?"

"Everything," Wolfgang said dryly, just as Kala piped up, "Hi Felix!" 

Felix snorted. "Kala, love! Hello! Make sure your idiot boyfriend doesn't break any more bones for me, would you?"

"Will do," she grinned. 

"Bye, Felix," Wolfgang said firmly, rolling his eyes. 

"Bye lovebirds!" he yelled through the phone. "Miss you! Don't get too freaky!" Wolfgang punched the end call button, and Kala laughed. 

"Fucking Lito told him," he told her. "I knew it was a bad idea for them to be friends." Kala laughed again. 

"I was going to tell him myself, actually," she said, depositing her bags on the floor and moving to sit on the bed. "But with everything going on, it completely slipped my mind." 

Wolfgang groaned. "You're all traitors." 

"Oh! That reminds me!" She exclaimed. Before he can do more than raise an eyebrow, she whipped out her phone and snapped a picture. "Awww!" she cooed, partially to annoy him - but also, it was actually a truly adorable picture. Yes, his eye was black and his lip a little swollen, and the nose brace made his face look funny. But his hair was all rumpled and sticking up messily at all angles, and she'd caught him with a rare unguarded expression, one eyebrow raised, but eyes half closed and soft with sleep. Her heart melted just looking at it. 

"Delete. That." He grabbed for the phone, but Kala held it up above her head, smirking at him playfully. 

"Hm, I don't think that I will." 

"Kala Dandekar," he said slowly, "Give me the phone." 

She laughed, hopping off the bed and dancing backwards, typing as quickly as she could. "Make me." 

He was out of the bed quicker than she would have thought possible, given his current state. Then again, she knew he had a high pain tolerance, and he was  _very_ protective of his badass image. He was on her in a second, scooping her into his arms, bridal style. She wasn't sure how, but somehow he managed to pluck the phone from her fingers before walking her back to the bed. 

"That was very rude," he said playfully, before dropping her unceremoniously onto the mattress. She dissolved into giggles. 

"Too late," she told him, and he glared at her, coming to the same conclusion from the phone in his hands. The picture was long gone, already off to all corners of the world through the group chat they'd made of all the cluster members and their people (Amanita, Hernando and Dani, Felix, Jela, Diego.)

"Dark and wicked," Wolfgang muttered, and that just made her laugh harder. She stretched out a hand to him. 

"Come here, you," she smirked. He didn't hesitate, descending on her in an instant, lips on her neck, hands roaming everywhere, and muttering something about  _revenge_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: says im going to do NaNoWriMo  
> also me: doesn't write anything at all for like a week and a half  
> MY BAD LOL i'm terrible at actually going through with what i say i'm going to do. 
> 
> This is really just a filler chapter but I had a lot of fun writing it so I do hope you enjoy.  
> Felix and Lito are genuinely some of my favourite characters to write maybe ever, so this chapter was basically just an excuse to throw them both in there and have some fun with it, lol.  
> Its also my headcannon that wolfie would have broken his nose multiple times, just because he's always headbutting people and fighting and shit. Like you can't tell me that wolfie and felix didn't get up to shit when they were younger that lead to a swift punch in the nose. 
> 
> I'm thinking about writing a Kalagang soulmate AU after this is done? I actually have a draft of the first chapter already.  
> Please let me know if you'd be interesting in reading that from me!!!! It would give me both validation and motivation, which are always good for the creative juices. 
> 
> Anyways, feel free to drop me an ask or give me a follow at thatwaswickedharry.tumblr.com to keep up with my shenanigans! I've got sense8, harry potter, percy jackson, dirk gently, brooklyn 99 and ALL OF THE THINGS there.


	15. fix this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kala finally tells rajan the whole truth. wolfgang has a solo dinner with sanyam and priya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya girl is back!   
> this one was tricky, but i hope you like it!

As much as Kala wanted to spend the rest of the trip with only Wolfgang, ignoring everything else, there was something that she knew that she had to do. She had to set things right again.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Wolfgang asked with a quirk of the lips that may have been a smirk, if his lip hadn’t been swollen and split. He already knew the answer, but she shook her head anyways.

“This is something I must do myself. Something that I honestly should have done a long time ago, but I ran away from.”

“You were scared,” he said softly. “Being afraid is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know, but it really wasn’t fair to anyone. And I want to make it right,” she told him. He nodded – she knew that he understood wanting to set things right. “Okay,” she breathed, determined. “I’m going to talk to Rajan.”

“You’re going to talk to Rajan.”

“And I’m going to tell him everything, how it really happened, and about the cluster.”

“You are.”

“And you’re going to stay here and have dinner with my parents.”

“I – what?”

“I’m sorry, but they were worried about you and I really need to do this right now and I promise it’ll be fine! They’re warming up to you!”

Wolfgang frowned at her, and then shook his head a little. The gesture, she could tell, was directed at himself, and not her, so she beamed at him, waiting. “Fine,” he said finally.

“Excellent!” she clapped, and she didn’t miss Wolfgang’s lips twitch like he was holding back a smile. “I think they’re pretty excited, actually. Dad was talking about what he wanted to cook for you.”

This time Wolfgang _does_ smile. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said softly. They stared at each other for a moment, smiling stupidly, before Kala snapped out of it. “But I have to go right now! I love you, I’ll visit if I need you to help prove anything!” He nodded, and she grabbed his jaw lightly, pressing a kiss to his forehead, and then she was out the door, on the way to Rajan’s.

 

Wolfgang had absolutely zero mental guidelines for dinner alone with Kala’s parents. Was he supposed to dress nice? Were they expecting him to talk about the fight? He really didn’t want to talk about the fight. Honestly, he didn’t really want to talk about anything, because what the fuck was he supposed to talk about? He had been making some headway with the Dandekars, but that didn’t mean that he could survive an entire dinner, alone, without making them hate him somehow.

He really wasn’t cut out for this relationship shit.

He was debating between the clothing options Kala had brought over from his hotel – clothing options, who even _was_ he – when Daya poked her head in. His face must have brightened – he had forgotten about her, maybe he wouldn’t be alone after all – because she laughed.

“Don’t look so excited, I’m leaving. Dad just wanted me to tell you dinner will be ready in 10 minutes.”

“Thanks.” He tried not to look too disappointed. Judging by Daya’s amused face, he didn’t succeed.

“You should go with the blue,” she nodded at the shirts in his hands. “Have fun, goodbye!” He sent her a half smile, half grimace, and she laughed before whisking out the door in a way that reminded his viscerally of Kala. He glanced back at the shirts in his hands. They were both button-downs, some of his nicest. One of them, he practically lived in – it was black, and soft, and had been thrown into his regular rotation of shirts almost as soon as he’d bought it. He wore it to almost every special occasion he’d been dragged to, to the point where Felix was basically begging him to wear something else. If he’d been standing in front of his closet at home, he had no doubt that it was what he would have chosen.

In the other hand, though, he was holding a light blue dress-shirt, one of the things that he’d given in and allowed Felix to buy for him and wore on occasion just to shut him up.

He actually didn’t even remember packing this shirt, and he had a sneaking suspicion that Kala had thrown it into his luggage herself. She and Felix had begun teaming up against him regarding his wardrobe recently.

“Honestly, Wolfgang, you can’t dress like the grim reaper all the time,” she would tell him with a fond smile. Wolfgang would reply with, “Sure I can,” and Kala and Felix would roll their eyes and force him into some other monstrosity they’d chosen for him.

This blue shirt though, Kala had told him many times was one of her favourites. “It brings out your eyes,” she would tell him, grinning. So he sighed and tossed his trusty black shirt to the side. Might as well go all out. He could feel Lito’s mind pressing at the back of his own, indignant with Wolfgang’s idea of “all out” being a simple blue shirt, and thanked any gods that might exist that Lito was currently busy and unable to barge in here and give him fashion advice. Honestly, he was equally thankful that Felix wasn’t here to jump around and yell about shoes and bullshit. The thought of the two of them together harassing him about his wardrobe popped into his mind, and he was momentarily terrified.

Still, he pulled on the shirt, brushed down his pants, finger-combed his hair so it actually looked half-decent, and at least kind of hid the fact that he’d slept practically all day. Then he took a deep, deep breath and walked down to Kala’s parents.

 

Kala took a deep, deep breath, and knocked on the door. Half of her was hoping desperately that he wouldn’t answer, just so she could go home to Wolfgang and try to forget the whole idea in the first place.

Still, when Rajan opened the door, looking a little worse for wear, most of Kala was relieved. She knew that she needed to do this, and she needed to do it now, before she lost the nerve.

“Kala!” The word sounded somewhere between a greeting and a question.

“Hello, Rajan. May I come in?”

“Yes, of course, Kala, you are always welcome here,” he said, “What can I do for you?”

“I have some things that I would like to clear up, if that’s all right with you.”

“Of course! I hope you’ll excuse my appearance, I’m sure you heard all about the… incident.”

“Um, yes, but that’s not really what I wanted to talk about, although it is kind of tangentially connected, and also, obviously I’m glad you’re okay, because I’ve seen Wolfgang fight many times, and I was worried…” Kala collected herself, trying to get a hold of the ramble that she had fallen into. “But that isn’t the point. I need to tell you something.”

“Anything,” Rajan said. To his credit, he didn’t seem fazed by the ramble at all, although a frown had flitted across his face at the mention of her seeing Wolfgang fight. She supposed, without context, it could be kind of an alarming statement. However, she was about to give him the context, wasn’t she? So it didn’t really matter. She felt already so off-balance, and she hadn’t even told him anything yet. She took a deep breath, imagining Wolfgang’s smirk, his calming hands – she knew exactly what he would say. _Breathe_.

So she did.

And then she dove right into what had really happened in the past couple years, starting with _What’s Up_ in her bedroom and the real reason she fainted at their first wedding.

 

Kala’s parents were really very intimidating for such kind and loving people. There was a moment, after all of the pleasantries and greetings, once Sanyam had put all the food on the table, when the two of them just looked at him, silently. They were smiling, but Wolfgang wasn’t sure if that made the overall effect better or worse.

Wolfgang has never been a person who is uncomfortable with silence.

But there was something very unique about Kala’s parents sitting in silence, in that they made him want to fill it up. They seemed to be naturally very chatty people, and at their silence something in Wolfgang’s brain just went _Fix This_.

For Wolfgang, at least, it was a really fucking odd feeling.

And once he opened his fucking mouth and started talking, it was rather difficult to stop. Sanyam and Priya asked a pretty insane amount of questions. Not hugely difficult questions, but the volume was such that he was constantly talking, and about all sorts of things. Sanyam pressed him on cuisine and taste and Priya inquired after Germany and tourism spots. They asked him about religion and his education and his fucking hobbies (he wasn’t sure what to say, so he somehow fell into an intense discussion about singing shows, which apparently they loved as well.)

Somehow, Wolfgang felt comfortable. Sanyam and Priya had a way of talking and asking questions that made them seem genuinely interested, and an ease that led them from conversation to conversation fairly easily. Wolfgang could sense that they were still nervous about him, still inquisitive, but that they were much more comfortable with him too.

Maybe, Wolfgang realized, this was what having a real family was _like_.

Felix was his family, of course. And the cluster was becoming a weird clusterfuck (hah) of a family as well. But Wolfgang had never really had anything that could be likened to healthy parental figures, not since his mother died, and even then his life was already fucked up enough that he wasn’t sure that it counted. He’d never had anything like this, like Sanyam beaming at him when he complimented the food, like Priya pressing him to eat more and fussing over his injuries, like the two of them asking about Felix with a warmth he associated fully with Kala. The little, playful arguments they got into with each other, how they tried to drag Wolfgang into them to settle the debate.

It was _nice_ , and Wolfgang, who usually shied away from all forms of affection on reflex, found himself grinning and laughing along.

He even found himself talking about his actual family – he kept it short and terse on both his father and his uncle’s family who raised him… But he told them some of what he could remember of his mother, voice soft. How she used to sing to him. Food she would make. Watching the tigers at the zoo. He wasn’t sure why – he rarely talked about his mother to anybody. Maybe he just wanted them to understand.  They didn’t push him on it, just let him talk, asking a soft question or two.

After they were done eating, and Wolfgang was about to retreat upstairs to call Felix, (who apparently needed his opinion on something,) Sanyam pulled him to the side.

“Wolfgang, could I have a quick word?”

“Sure.”

“I know that we have not necessarily been exactly welcoming to you here so far, but Priya and I want you to know that we see how much happiness you bring Kala, and that is what is most important to us.”

“Kala makes me happy, too” Wolfgang said with a small smile.

“That is what I like to hear,” Sanyam laughed, clapping Wolfgang on the shoulder. “In all seriousness, when you showed up the other night, covered in blood, Priya and I were very worried. And not just about Kala, but about _you,_ and your safety. It made us realize, I think, that we were perhaps being a little unfair to you.”

“I would have done the same. Kala and I – the way our relationship started was a mess.”

“Hm. I think, if the circumstances were different, we would have gotten along much quicker.” Sanyam paused, and Wolfgang wasn’t sure if the conversation had ended or not. “Son,” he said, and again Wolfgang felt a jolt of warmth he wasn’t used to. “I know there are things in your past that you don’t like to talk about, and that you have had to make your own family over the years. But I think in time you could grow to be an important part of this one, if you want to be.”

Wolfgang kind of felt like he was about to cry, which was an _extraordinarily_ uncommon feeling for him. Bogdanows didn’t cry. That lesson had been beaten into him enough times over the years. “Thank you,” he managed. He held out a hand for Sanyam to shake, and was surprised when Kala’s father instead pulled him into a hug. Wolfgang made himself relax into the embrace – he would let himself feel this. This was _good_.

Sanyam pulled away, smiling a little wryly. “That being said, of course, Wolfgang, if you hurt our baby girl, I’m afraid we will have to kill you.”

Wolfgang laughed. “I would expect nothing less.” More quietly, he added, “But I promise that I won’t.”

“Right answer,” he nodded seriously. Wolfgang chuckled.

When he made his way up the stairs to Kala’s bedroom, he felt lighter, and he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.

 

Rajan reacted surprisingly well to the revelation that there was an entire other species of human that almost nobody was aware of. He’d started out thinking she was joking, but then, after a minute or two of processing, he looked at her and said, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I believe you.”

“Really? I mean, well, good! Would you like to speak to anyone in the cluster? You’ve met Wolfgang, obviously, but I can reach any of them on the phone, to corroborate.”

“Sure, that would be nice,” he mused softly, “Just to drive it home to myself.”

So she rang up Will, who she figured would be the most grounded and believable to any stranger on the phone. She puts it on speakerphone

“Kala! Hey, how are you!”

“I’m good, Will, I just needed your help…”

“What’s up? You couldn’t have visited?” She could feel him reaching out with his mind, trying to put the pieces together, clicking them into place as she answered.

“I’m actually here with Rajan –”

“Hello,” Rajan piped up, still sounding a little shell-shocked.

“Oh, hey Rajan! I see Kala is bringing you into the loop,” he said, suddenly appearing next to Kala. “Nice place,” he added, and Rajan looked at Kala in surprise.

“You’re – here? Visiting?” He looked to Kala for confirmation of the term. She nodded.

“Yeah,” Will said, glancing around the room. “I like your colour-scheme. Can never go wrong with red.” Rajan let out a choked kind of laughing sound, and Will chuckled. “It’s pretty crazy, eh? I thought I was losing my mind.”

“Who _are_ you? Where are you from?”

“Will Gorski, nice to meet ya. I’m a cop, from Chicago.”

“Wow. Well, nice to meet you too, I guess.”

Will laughed. “I’ve got to get ready for work, Kal. I’ll talk to you soon!” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and she laughed and swatted him away.

“Thanks, Will.”

Then she hung up the phone. Rajan just looked at her for a second, clearly still stunned.

“I’m not excusing my actions,” she said quietly, “And I know I made a lot of decisions that did nothing but hurt people. But I thought… I thought that I could learn to love you, for your sake, and my parents’ sake too, and to keep everyone happy. It seemed so foolish to think of throwing away such a sure future for a man who I’d never met in real life, who could have just been a figment of my imagination… And he was pushing me away. Even _he_ thought marrying you was the right decision, to protect me.” She trailed off for a second.

“Kala,” Rajan said, but she holds up a finger and he stopped in his tracks, letting her finish.

“But increasingly I found myself trying to build a life here where everyone was happy except for me. And with Wolfgang… things are different. We are connected so deeply, even when we were trying to avoid each other we would be drawn together. And I was going to do it, break off the marriage, and I was going to do it right, and tell you everything, and apologize, all before Wolfgang and I met in person. But then BPO had him and I was so scared that he was going to _die_ , and then we got him free, and BPO was gone, and he was in the hospital recovering in Berlin, and it was all such a whirlwind there was no time to do things right. At least, that is what I told myself. But that was unfair to you, and I’m sorry that I let it get to this. You deserve at least the truth.”

“Thank you,” he said quietly, after a moment. “I think I understand you a little better. And I apologize, as well, for being so willfully blind to your true feelings, although I think I must have known them. I buried it because I wanted for us to be happy so badly, but I see now that much about our marriage was flawed. I wish you and Wolfgang the best, truly.”

Kala smiled. “Thank you, Rajan. Wolfgang is sorry, by the way, about the whole fight thing.”

“I doubt it.”

Kala laughed. “Well, no. But if it makes you feel any better, you did break his nose.”

Rajan laughed.

When Kala walked out his door, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her chest. She had told him. It had gone fine. Some of the guilt that had been eating her alive had receded. She smiled all the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i get really emotional about wolfgang and family feels. 
> 
> i'm planning only like 2 more chapters of this. it's coming to a close. 
> 
> and my kalagang soulmate AU should be up once this is done! thanks to all that expressed interest, love you guys.   
> as usual, kudos, comments and bookmarks are so appreciated, thank you guys!
> 
> xx


	16. home is with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the trip comes to an end. kala and wolfgang talk about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my loves! sorry for the long wait, it's been, what, a month? i've been a little busy - exams, holidays, miscellaneous personal things. however, i quite like this particular chapter, and we finally get to see a little where the title comes from, so i hope you enjoy it!   
> by the way - if anyone was wondering, the title is from Come Back Home by The Arkells, and you should definitely check it out.   
> enjoy!

Their last few days with Kala’s family flew by. They had finally fallen into a kind of routine, where nobody felt nervous and cornered, and everyone seemed so much more comfortable. They packed a lot into the last few days, because no one was sure when Kala and Wolfgang would be back. They went to a few final tourist attractions, some walks in gardens, and out for dinner several times. Sanyam even decided that he would try to teach Kala and Wolfgang how to make a dish of his that Wolfgang had particularly liked.

It hadn’t gone too well.

Wolfgang ended up with flower all over, and Kala was so distracted with laughing at him that they burned the food. It was a qualified disaster, but they both agreed that it was one of their favourite memories from the trip, the three of them shoulder to shoulder in the kitchen, Sanyam’s gentle amusement, Priya calling suggestions from the other room.

Too soon, their last night in India arrived. As was their custom, Kala and Wolfgang visited before retiring for the night, chatting quietly in the darkness.

“I can’t believe we’re really going back tomorrow,” Kala murmured into Wolfgang’s shoulder.  “It seems like we just arrived.”

Wolfgang snorted lightly, his hands brushing through her hair. “Yeah, just yesterday I was nearly shitting myself over meeting your parents.”

Kala laughed, “Gods and goddesses, I’m glad they’re no longer throwing questions at you every two seconds.”

“Me too,” Wolfgang chuckled, shifting so she was pressed closer to his chest. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, the air filled only with the sounds of their breathing. Wolfgang had nearly fallen asleep by the time Kala spoke again.

“Wolfgang, what do you think about Paris?” Her voice was quiet – if Wolfgang had been more awake, he would have called it tentative.

“Hmm?” He said intelligently, still a bit groggy, pulling himself back towards full consciousness.

“Paris.”

“I’ve still never been,” he told her, confused at the turn that the conversation had taken.

“Yes, but what do you think about it,” Kala pressed. Wolfgang shrugged slightly, trying not to jostle her too much.

“Seems nice. Lots of movie theatres, apparently.”

She giggled a little. “What?”

“Felix has always wanted to go. Apparently it’s the film capital of the world or some shit.”

She hummed against his chest. He was still not quite following, too tired to piece this conversation together, but he didn’t press her. He knew that she would tell him in her own time. He just hoped it would be before he fell asleep.

She was silent a minute longer before shifting in his arms. “Do you think you would want to live there?”

Wolfgang, who had been very near sleep again, took a second to let his groggy brain catch up. “In Paris?” Finally, the conversation clicked into place somewhere in his mind. “Sure, yeah,” he cracked a smirk, even though he didn’t think that she could see him in the darkness. “Just as long as I don’t get kidnapped before we leave this time.”

She laughed, but only for a moment. “Are you sure? I know that Berlin is important to you…”

“And here is important to you. We shouldn’t choose between them,” he said. “Paris can be important to _us_. That’s all I care about.” He could feel her smile against his chest. They’d talked about this before, but never very seriously. They’d always had bigger things to worry about.

”You know, you’re very sweet when you’re sleepy,” she teased him, and he huffed a laugh into her hair.

“I’m sweet all the time,” he murmured, smirking, but admittedly sleep was fighting very hard for his attention. Kala made a disbelieving sound, somewhere between a laugh and a scoff.

“Sure, very sweet. A naturally sweet person who just happens to own a rocket launcher.”

“Am sweet with _you_ ,” he protested, bumping his nose into the top of her head for emphasis.

“Hmm, yes, I am quite lucky, aren’t I?” she teased him quietly. “I’m the only one who gets this side of you.”

“Mhm, cause you’re just special,” he murmured. He was going for a teasing tone, but the sleep crept into his voice, and it came out more serious than he intended. He couldn’t really remember what point he had been trying to make here. He tried to open his eyes but they were too heavy. Vaguely, he heard Kala say something, but it was too late. Sleep had finally caught him and grabbed hold, dragging him under to confused dreams of movie theatres and people in berets and Kala laughing at him fondly.

 

Kala didn’t know what had made her bring it up. They had been talking about their first day of the visit, and all the questions her parents had asked them, and her brain had brought up from her memory the fact that they had asked where she and Wolfgang planned on living, going forward. Kala still felt very attached to the idea of Paris. They still had never been, so she’d kept it in her mind as a sort of haven, just for them.

She still didn’t know why she’d decided to bring it up just then, though. Trying to talk to Wolfgang right before he fell asleep was impossible, especially when he was particularly tired. He wouldn’t follow, or he would mumble unintelligibly into her hair, or he would fall asleep mid-conversation. Admittedly, it was rather adorable, but less so when she wanted to have a serious conversation.

Her heart had leapt when he’d agreed with Paris, but she had to remind herself, when he fell asleep only a few sentences later, that things said when one was half-asleep are _far_ from set in stone. Especially on topics this big.

She didn’t get a chance to bring it up again right away. They had to catch their midday flight, and so the morning was frenzied with packing and goodbyes. Wolfgang, irritatingly, packed extremely quickly – he hadn’t brought too much with him, and he generally was a pretty organized person. She cursed him under her breath when he showed up at her parents’ house a couple of hours early, bags in tow, already checked out of his hotel and ready to go. She could hear him chatting with Daya from where she stood in her room, trying to figure out how she was going to fit everything she wanted to bring with her into her luggage.

“Wolfgang! Could you help me please,” she called out. She heard him chuckle, and soon enough he was there, leaning in her doorway, surveying the damage. Things were thrown everywhere. She couldn’t decide what to bring with her and what to leave behind.

“I thought you were supposed to be the organized one,” he smirked at her, not moving a muscle despite her desperate need for his help.

“I _am_ organized,” she said, ignoring the mess that contradicted her words. “But that isn’t even true, Wolfgang. You’re a very organized person.” She brandished a clothes hanger at him to punctuate her point. He just shrugged, looking amused, and didn’t move an inch from his perch in her doorway.

She glared at him, but all he said was, “I’m just neat, not organized.”

“Are they not the exact same thing?” Kala rolled her eyes. He was being difficult just to mess with her, and there wasn’t _time_ for that. She threw a pair of yellow pants at him, which he caught, surprised. “Now _help. Me._ ” He laughed, finally pushing off the door and wading into the war zone that her room had become.

Eventually, her bags were packed, and Kala and Wolfgang were saying goodbye to Daya and auntie before leaving with Kala’s parents to the airport.

Daya gave Kala a bone-crushing hug. “I’m going to miss you so much, Kala! Promise me you’ll visit again soon.”

“Of course I will,” Kala chided, feeling a little teary-eyed. “You should come to visit us, as well.” They were still hugging, faces buried in each others’ shoulders. Daya gave her an extra squeeze.

“Yes! I would love that!”

“And we can skype, too okay? Don’t be a stranger.”

Daya finally released her, giving her a watery smile and saying, "I won’t if you won’t.” Kala laughed and felt like crying.

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Kala. Gods, I’m going to miss having you around.”

“Me too,” Kala admitted. The sisters shared one last hug before Daya turned to Wolfgang, who had been talking quietly with their aunt.

“Take care of my sister for me, okay?”

“Always,” Wolfgang grinned, and then Daya hugged him as well. Kala’s heart swelled, and somehow she felt even more tearful than before.

She bid a final goodbye to her auntie, who made her promise to “video chat” her and told her that her astrologist had seen good things in her future, which made Kala smile. Daya swooped in one last time, capturing both Kala and Wolfgang into some sort of odd group hug, and then they were off to the airport with a flurry of movement and chatter and tears.

It was at this point that Kala did truly start to cry. She cried much harder when they parted from her parents at the airport. They told her that they were proud of her and that they missed her already, and the tears wouldn’t stop falling. They told Wolfgang that it had been a pleasure to meet him and to look after himself, and Kala cried and cried.

When Sanyam pulled Wolfgang into a hug and said “We will see you soon, I hope,” well – Kala couldn’t be sure, vision blurred with tears as it was, but she could swear that Wolfgang was a little misty-eyed as well.

Finally, after many hugs and many tears, Kala and Wolfgang had made their way through, and sat waiting for their flight at their gate. Kala had managed to calm her tears, and they were sitting in a comfortable silence when suddenly she remembered that she’d had something that she wanted to talk to him about.

“Wolfgang?” She shifted her head from where she was tucked under his arm so that she could look at his face.

“Hmm?” His eyes were closed, but she knew he was listening.

“Do you remember our conversation last night at all?”

He opened his eyes, looking down into her face. He raised his eyebrows. “Paris, yeah?”

She smiled. “Yes, Paris. And you still think it would be a good idea?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s a beautiful place.” He grinned down at her. “And just for us.”

She laughed.

“What about Felix,” she asked softly after a moment. It had been the one thing that really bothered her about the thought of moving. Wolfgang frowned a little, thinking. There was a crease between his eyebrows, and she just wanted to reach up and smooth it out.

“Felix can look after himself,” he said finally, nodding to himself like he’d made a decision. “And Paris to Berlin is drivable, I think. We can visit.”

“Are you sure,” she asked softly, playing with his hand in her lap. “I know how much Felix means to you.”

“I’m sure,” he nodded again. Kala worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Suesse,” he brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. “Felix and I will be fine. Stop worrying.” She nodded at him, but the worry must have still shown on her face, because he sighed softly, rubbing his thumb soothingly across her knuckles. “Berlin was my home for a long time, but that was before. What matters to me is this. Home is with you.”

Kala had cried so much that day that she didn’t think that there were any tears left to cry.

She was wrong.

Wolfgang grinned down at her, tugging her impossibly closer. “I didn’t mean to make you _cry_.”

“Sorry,” she sniffed into his t-shirt, “it’s been an emotional day.”

“I know.” They sat in silence until Kala’s tears subsided once again.

“So…Paris.”

“Paris,” he grinned.

She leaned herself even more fully into the crook of his arm. “Obviously, it will take quite a bit of planning, and probably a good amount of time, and we’ll have to look into jobs there as well, as soon as possible since neither of us have been working, but –”

“Hey, hey,” he interrupted, “we can worry about all that shit later, okay?”

She looked at him, looking down at her with that absurd amused/fond expression on his face, and she saw what their future could be. She grinned. “Okay.”

After all, home, for them, wasn't really a place.

 _Home is with you_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might be able to tell, this fic is coming to a close. All we have left is the epilogue - hopefully i get it out faster than this chapter, lol.   
> I hope you liked it! This fic means a lot to me, and it's been a great learning experience as my first "longer" fic ever. I hope you'll stay with me and see what comes next!   
> Stay tuned for the epilogue!


	17. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the happily ever after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while. thanks for sticking around.   
> here's the ending, i hope you like it.

||ONE YEAR LATER||

 

Kala pushed through the door to their flat, and barely stopped herself from calling out to Wolfgang, remembering at the last second that he wasn’t there.

She was in Paris, and he was in Berlin. Or was he? She did the math in her head – yes, he should have arrived at Felix’s by now, she thought as she dropped her bag at her feet. Her mind reached out to him without her even really meaning to, and she felt him before she saw him, standing in the door frame of their kitchen as she locked the door behind her.

“Missing me already?” He was already smirking as she turned to him.

“You don’t have to be so smug about it,” she grumbled, and he chuckled, tugging her into his chest where she settled comfortably.

“It’s only one weekend, Kal.”

“I know,” she sighed. “We are frightfully codependent.”

“Nah, you could do just fine without me.”

“True. But why would I want to?” She felt him smile into the top of her head. “Where are you, anyways?” She followed the connection to him, finding him perched on the end of the bed in Felix’s spare room.

“Felix’s,” he said, unnecessarily.

“How is he?” She searched his face. She still worried about separating him from his brother, even now, when they were well settled in Paris.

“He’s good,” his face broke open in a grin. “The same. He’s dragging me out tonight.”

“Of course.”

“Of course,” he grinned.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less of him.”

He grimaced. “I think I’m going to take a blocker for the morning, spare you all the hangover.”

Kala frowned reflexively at the thought of being severed from him. He chuckled and grabbed her hand, rubbing a thumb across her knuckles. “You can still just call me, you know.”

“I know,” she sighed. “It isn’t the same.”

“So tough, being normal people for a day or so,” he teased. She smacked him lightly on the shoulder with her free hand.

“I’m perfectly normal.”

“Mhmm.”  She would never understand how he packed so much skepticism into the simple sound. It was a talent, one she could never quite manage to replicate.

“Wolfie! Are you done with your weird mind-reading shit?” Kala smiled at the sound of Felix’s voice. Wolfgang rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide how happy he was to be back with his brother.

“No,” he shouted.

“Hurry the fuck up, then!” Felix shouted from somewhere in the flat. “It’s time to _party_!”

Wolfgang called out an affectionate “fuck off,” before turning back to Kala.

“You’ll tell him hello for me?”

“Yeah.”

“And that I miss him?”

“Of course.”

“Good,” she smiled. “Have fun, then. Don’t let any of those German girls steal you away from me.”

“Never,” he said, and his tone was light but his eyes were serious. Kala bent down and kissed him once before she had to let him leave.

The moment was broken with a holler from Felix. “Wolfie! Kala gets you all the time! Tell her to share.”

Wolfgang pulled away with a chuckle. “Okay, okay.”

Kala pressed her lips to his temple before releasing him. “Go. I’ll see you soon.”

He shot her a grin and pushed himself up, heading for the door. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said. Then she grinned, struck by a sudden inspiration. “And Wolfgang?” He turned, hand on the doorknob. “Tell Felix I’ve never been good at sharing.”

He barked out a laugh as she broke the connection. She found herself back in their flat – back to the mountain of reports that she’d brought with her to occupy herself while Wolfgang spent the weekend with Felix in Berlin.

They’d settled into life in Paris fairly easily. Kala had found a high level job at a lab, and found it just as fulfilling as her job at Rasal Pharmaceuticals, if not more so. It was comforting to know for _sure_ that her position was completely earned off of her own merits. The work, too, was very engaging.

As for Wolfgang, he was spending his days volunteering with troubled kids, trying to help set them on the right path. He’d agonized a lot over the decision to apply, because he was convinced that he would be no good at it.

“Kala,” he would say, “I didn’t even get my own life together until like, a year ago. How am I supposed to help _them_?” But he came around soon enough, and he was brilliant with the kids. He knew how to talk to them, and they seemed to know that he could really understand what they were going through.

He seemed particularly attached to the kids that gave him the most trouble. He never said, but Kala knew that it was because they reminded him of himself. And if he could get the kids that laughed in his face back on track, it meant… well, Kala wasn’t sure, but she thought maybe it helped him to think that his life could have been different, if anyone had bothered to care.

He’d taken to talking about them when he came home, lamenting the inability to do more, ranting about bad parenting, talking through ideas to get a closed-off kid to open up to him.

Kala had never understood why he liked listening to her talk about work until she got to experience it in reverse. She loved seeing his so engaged, the soft look on his face when he talked about the kids.

It was electric.

She knew that he’d get that paid position that he planned on applying for when he got back. He was a natural, and you could see the passion he had for the work written all over his face.

They lived in a beautiful loft, and they took regular walks at a nearby park, and they were thinking about getting a dog. It was amazing -- they’d really settled into their life in Paris in a way that Kala had barely dared to hope for. For the first time in a long, long time, Kala could look to pretty much any aspect of her life and say she was truly happy.

 

Wolfgang was kind of astounded that his plan was working. It was actually a fucking miracle, because he’d never been much good at lying.

“She hasn’t figured it out?” Felix asked him as they were headed out that night. (That part wasn’t a lie. It wouldn’t be Felix and Wolfgang if they didn’t go out and get absolutely fucked.)

“Not yet,” Wolfgang grumbled, looking over his shoulder like he expected Kala to materialize and demand what she hadn’t figured out.

Felix whistled. “How are you managing that?”

“I _am_ capable of some things, you know.”

“I mean, shouldn’t she just fucking know?”

“Not exactly. Plus, I’m blocking her out until I take the blocker.”

“Shit, you can do that?”

“To an extent. Used to be easier.” Back when they’d still never met. Back when Wolfgang was angrier, more reckless, more stubborn. Back when he was scared out of his goddamn mind of a girl with dark hair, dark eyes and feelings he’d never felt before.

Wolfgang hadn’t expected it to be so much harder, now. Maybe he should have. He was hardly that angry, terrified thief anymore.

“When are you taking that blocking pill thingie?”

Wolfgang checked his watch. He’d planned out all of the timing – it would need to last well into tomorrow, when the real purpose of his visit arose.

“Soon,” he grunted, and Felix rolled his eyes.

“That’s so fucking weird, by the way. Blocking drug. What the shit.”

Wolfgang cuffed him in the back of the head, smiling to himself. Arguably the best part about this trip was that he got to spend all weekend with his brother. Not that he’d ever tell him that. Obviously. He had a reputation to uphold, here.

 

He hadn’t told any of the cluster what he was doing, although part of him really fucking wanted to. He didn’t trust any of them not to spill and tell Kala, and that would ruin his entire plan. Plus, he felt enough like he was going to throw up just talking to Felix about it, and that was _Felix_. But he had to talk to someone, otherwise it would eat him alive. Plus, he really needed his opinion. Badly.

Because what did Wolfgang know about buying rings?

 

Wolfgang didn’t like taking blockers, especially not since BPO. Since his kidnapping. It felt… empty, like he was missing a hand, or an eye, or half his brain.

But he wanted the proposal to be a surprise, and he couldn’t have Kala pull herself to his side while he was stood in a shop with Felix, looking at rings. That wouldn’t do. And as skilled as Wolfgang could be at blocking himself away from the cluster – the best out of all of them, at least – he wasn’t taking any risks. Wolfgang was a planner, and he and Felix had planned this to the last detail.

He wanted it to be perfect.

And so, there he was, browsing rings, with an emptiness in the back of his head and Felix keeping up a running commentary in his ear.

“I feel like Kala’s the type of girl who would like something fancy right? Like lots of diamonds and shit?”

Wolfgang was hardly listening. The realness of what was happening was starting to sink in, and he felt kind of dazed with it.

“Shit, and you have to make sure you don’t choose one that’s like her ex’s ring. That’s bad karma, or some shit, right? Fuck.”

Was he really ready for this? Was _Kala_ ready for this? He thought so. They’d talked about it before, but that had been in the hypothetical. Maybe…

“Wolfie. _Wolfgang_. Hey.” Felix jerked him out of his thoughts with a jostle of his shoulder. His face was uncharacteristically serious.

“Hm?”

“You know you have nothing to worry about, right?”

“I’m not –”

“You have your brooding worrying face on, for fuck’s sake. Stop.”

Wolfgang made a sound of annoyance. “I can’t just _stop_.”

“You can, you fucker. You and Kala are, like, fucking made for each other, you know? There’s no way she says no to you, even if she probably should.” Felix finished off his little speech with a shit-eating grin, punching Wolfgang on the arm. Wolfgang rolled his eyes, but smiled despite himself.

“Is it possible for you to give me advice _without_ insulting me?”

“Nah,” Felix grinned happily. “Now pay fucking attention.”

It took a while – “For fuck’s sake, Wolfie, why are you so damn picky?” – But eventually Wolfgang found a ring that was perfect. _Perfect_.

Felix gave him twenty bucks to never tell _anyone ever_ that he’d teared up when Wolfgang bought it. It was only years and years of carefully hiding emotions that kept Wolfgang from crying, himself, and even then his hold on his self-control was tenuous.

And then the blocker was wearing off, the ring hidden in the depths of his luggage. Wolfgang had the annoying task of locking all thoughts of the ring into a part of his mind that he didn’t let anyone see, despite the fact that it was all that he wanted to think about. And then it was goodbye to Felix and Berlin and everything he’d called home for so much of his life. But things had changed, and so he got in his old, shitty car and instead of leaving home, he was diving towards it. He was on his way back home. To Paris. To Kala. To the ring in his suitcase and phase two of his plan. To everything he never used to let himself believe he could have.

 

It was another week before Wolfgang was able to put phase two of the plan into action.

Some pieces, of course, he’d already had to put into place beforehand. He called Sanyam. He made reservations. He told Kala she wasn’t allowed to be a workaholic on the day that he’d chosen. He forestalled her curiosity by claiming the special night was to make up for the weekend he spent away.

All the pieces were coming together.

Wolfgang’s only regret is that he hadn’t planned to do it right when he came back, because all this waiting was making him crazy. He had been fidgety and restless all week. His kids, nosy brats, all wanted to know what was up with him. He told the little fuckers to go stick their noses in someone else’s business, obviously. They hadn’t listened in the slightest, and he almost would have been proud of their persistence if it wasn’t making him all the more stressed. He felt like he was going to jump out of his goddamn skin.

When the day arrived, though, everything went smoothly. He and Kala had a lovely dinner at the first restaurant they had ever tried in Paris, a lovely little place that they liked to come back to on nice occasions. It was a really nice memory for the both of them. They drank wine and chatted and Wolfgang could feel the frenzy that was inside his brain for the past week slow to a stop. He hardly even knew why he’d been so jumpy in the first place. This was him, and this was Kala, and this was _right_.

After dinner, they took a walk in Kala’s favourite park.

“You don’t have to feel guilty for visiting Felix, you know,” Kala told him, clinging to the crook of his arm, face pressed into his shoulder. It was a cool enough night, and they used any excuse they could get to be close to each other.

“I know,” Wolfgang smiled. “I don’t. But I missed you.”

Kala giggled. “We _are_ frightfully codependent, aren’t we?”

“Sure,” he agreed. “But who said that’s a bad thing?” They’d strolled to a stop, right where they always did, right where Wolfgang had wanted to, in the shadow of this beautiful fountain that Kala loved. And just as he was reaching into his pocket, she turned her head up and smiled at him, and he was overwhelmed for a second with how much he wanted this. Wanted her, by his side, looking at him like that, forever and always, til death do they part.

This was the moment.

So he dropped to his knee, and pulled out the box in his pocket.

“Kala Dandekar.”

When Kala saw the ring, and Wolfgang on his knee, her brain slowed down. All that she could feel, in that moment, was love. The strongest love she’d ever felt. She covered her mouth with her hands, looking down at this man that she loved more than anything.

“I have never loved anything in this world like I love you.”

Tears were in her eyes, but behind her hands, she was smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt.

“I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you.”

His hands were shaking.

“You’re home to me.”

Wolfgang was vaguely aware of the cluster surrounding them. Everyone was crying. Distantly, he realised that he was crying too.

“Kala Dandekar, will you marry me?”

Time stopped for a moment. He was kneeling on the ground, and he was standing looking down at Kala, and he was in Berlin and he was in Mumbai, that first time that he’d ever seen her, and he was everywhere and nowhere

 

and then she said “Yes”.

 

The ring was on her finger and her hands were on his jaw and he was standing shakily and they were kissing and both of them were crying. The cluster gathered around them, hugging and laughing and yelling and crying.

And Wolfgang had never been happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god this has been a long time in the making, and i can't believe it's finally over. I really hope that you enjoyed this final chapter, I'm sorry it took so long. Life gets in the way, and I really lost steam with my writing. However! To make up for it, this is one of the longest chapters. Maybe even the longest, I'm not sure. I'm really happy with this ending, and thank you guys so much for sticking with me.   
> All of your comments and encouragements have been so amazing to read. Thank you from the bottom on my heart for each kudos and comment and subscription and bookmark. It means a lot.   
> Hopefully sometime in the future I'll get some more work up, but uni is hard and so we'll have to see when that is.   
> Thank you all again!   
> xx Q


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